EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE  
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES  
) 
First Regular Session 
 
 
) 
 
 
S E N A T E 
S. B. No. _____ 
 
 
Introduced by SENATORS MANUEL ―LITO‖ M. LAPID, FRANKLIN M. DRILON, 
RALPH G. RECTO, RICHARD J. GORDON, SHERWIN GATCHALIAN,  
JOEL VILLANUEVA, JUAN MIGUEL F. ZUBIRI, SONNY ANGARA, MARIA LOURDES 
NANCY S. BINAY, RAMON BONG REVILLA, JR., RISA HONTIVEROS,  
FRANCIS ―KIKO‖ PANGILINAN, EMMANUEL D. PACQUIAO 
 
 
AN ACT 
GRANTING 
THE 
ABS-CBN 
BROADCASTING 
CORPORATION 
A 
PROVISIONAL FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, INSTALL, OPERATE, AND 
MAINTAIN TELEVISION AND RADIO BROADCASTING STATIONS IN THE 
PHILIPPINES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
 
 
By virtue of Republic Act No. 7966, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation (ABS-
CBN) was granted a franchise for twenty-five (25) years or until May 4, 2020. 
Pending the expiration of the franchise, several bills were filed to renew said 
franchise. 
 
As early as the 16th Congress, an attempt had been made to renew the 
franchise of ABS-CBN through the filing of House Bill No. 4997. However, this did not 
get past the committee level. This 18th Congress, several bills in both Houses have 
been filed all seeking for the extension of ABS-CBN’s franchise for another 25 years. 
Unfortunately, to date, the bills pending in House of Representatives have remained 
at the committee level. 
  
In order to give Congress further time to deliberate on ABS-CBN’s franchise, 
the House Committee on Legislative Franchise wrote a letter enjoining the National 
Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to grant ABS-CBN a provisional authority to 
01:28 p.m
May 11 2020
1521


 
2 
operate effective May 4, 2020 until such time that the Congress has made a decision 
on its application. For its part, the Senate adopted Senate Resolution No. 344, 
authorizing the NTC to issue a provisional authority to ABS-CBN, its subsidiaries 
and/or affiliates ABS-CBN Convergence, Inc., Sky Cable Corporation, and Amcara 
Broadcasting Network, Inc. until the Congress' final disposition of the franchise 
renewal bills. It should be noted that during the hearing of the Senate Committee on 
Public Services last February 24, 2020, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has 
opined that Congress, through a concurrent resolution, could direct the NTC to 
provide provisional authority to operate pending deliberation on bills on the 
network’s franchise renewal before the Congress. 
 
The non-renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise will result in the loss of thousands of 
jobs as the network has over 11,017 employees including its artists, independent 
contractors, suppliers, and content creators who are spread out in ABS-CBN’s 
information and entertainment group of companies.  
 
ABS-CBN is also one of the country’s two biggest networks. Hence, the 
cessation of its operations would imperil the Philippine advertising industry who has 
historically invested up to 75 percent of its P151-billion business into TV.  
 
The television network is also among the country’s largest taxpayers, having 
contributed up to P70.5 billion to the government between 2003 and 2020. Without 
the significant revenue stream the television network provides, government would 
be hard-pressed to find funding for basic services like education, healthcare, and 
security.   
  
Equally important is the impact of the removal of a market leader such as 
ABS-CBN not only on competition within the broadcasting industry, but also on the 
economy as a whole. Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia was 
quoted as saying that the non-renewal of the franchise of ABS-CBN may affect 
investor confidence and get in the way of promoting diversity in the economy and 
fostering competition.  


 
3 
 
Now that we are in the midst of a pandemic, when the public is in need not 
just of reliable sources of information but also of entertainment and consolation for 
the sake of their mental health, and the failure of the NTC to heed Senate Resolution 
No. 344, the letter of House of Representatives, and the opinion of the DOJ 
Secretary to issue a provisional authority in favor of ABS-CBN, all the more is it 
urgent that legislative interventions are taken to ensure that ABS-CBN will continue 
their operations pending Congress’ deliberations of the corporations’ regular 
franchise renewal. The propriety of the long-standing practice of the Senate to 
conduct committee hearings in anticipation of any local, appropriation, tax, and 
private bills, such as franchise bills, still pending before the House of Representatives 
has been clearly explained in Tolentino vs. Secretary of Finance.1 The Supreme Court 
held that the origination clause in the Constitution does not prohibit the filing in the 
Senate of a substitute bill in anticipation of its receipt of the bill from the House, so 
long as action by the Senate as a body is withheld pending receipt of the House bill. 
 
Considering the network’s huge economic contribution to country, this 
measure should also be viewed as an attempt to save all the thousands of direct and 
indirect jobs dependent on ABS-CBN in a time of great unease and economic 
contraction. Indeed, in the face of all the challenges brought by the COVID-19 virus,  
government must do all it can to ease the burdens faced by its people.  
 
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of the bill is earnestly 
sought. 
 
 
 
 
MANUEL “LITO” M. LAPID 
 
FRANKLIN M. DRILON  
 
 
 
 
RALPH G. RECTO  
 
 
RICHARD J. GORDON 
                                                 
1 G.R. No. 115455, August 25, 1994 


 
4 
 
 
 
 
SHERWIN GATCHALIAN 
 
JOEL VILLANUEVA 
 
 
 
 
 
 
JUAN MIGUEL F. ZUBIRI 
 
SONNY ANGARA3  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MARIA LOURDES NANCY S. BINAY RAMON BONG REVILLA, JR. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
RISA HONTIVEROS 
 
 
FRANCIS “KIKO” PANGILINAN 
 
 
 
 
EMMANUEL D. PACQUIAO 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
3 In full disclosure and compliance with the 1987 Constitution, Senator Sonny Angara’s wife, Elvira Echauz-
Angara, has worked for the ABS-CBN Group of Companies even before he entered the public service in 2004.  


1 
 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE  
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES  
) 
First Regular Session 
 
 
) 
 
 
S E N A T E 
S. B. No. _____ 
 
 
Introduced by SENATORS MANUEL ―LITO‖ M. LAPID, FRANKLIN M. DRILON, 
RALPH G. RECTO, RICHARD J. GORDON, SHERWIN GATCHALIAN,  
JOEL VILLANUEVA, JUAN MIGUEL F. ZUBIRI, SONNY ANGARA, MARIA LOURDES 
NANCY S. BINAY, RAMON BONG REVILLA, JR., RISA HONTIVEROS,  
FRANCIS ―KIKO‖ PANGILINAN, EMMANUEL D. PACQUIAO 
 
 
AN ACT 
GRANTING 
THE 
ABS-CBN 
BROADCASTING 
CORPORATION 
A 
PROVISIONAL FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, INSTALL, OPERATE, AND 
MAINTAIN TELEVISION AND RADIO BROADCASTING STATIONS IN THE 
PHILIPPINES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the 
Philippines in Congress assembled: 
 
SECTION 1. Section 1 of Republic Act No. 7966 is hereby amended to read 
1 
as follows: 
2 
―Section 1. Nature and Scope of Franchise. — Subject to the 
3 
provisions of the Constitution and applicable laws, rules and 
4 
regulations, the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, hereunder 
5 
referred to as the grantee, its successors or assignEEs, is hereby 
6 
granted a PROVISIONAL franchise UNTIL JUNE 30, 2022 to 
7 
construct, operate and maintain[,] for commercial purposes and in 
8 
the public interest, television and radio broadcasting stations in and 
9 
throughout the Philippines, through microwave, satellite or whatever 
10 
means including the use of any new technologies in television and 
11 
radio systems, with the corresponding technological auxiliaries or 
12 
facilities, special broadcast and other broadcast distribution services 
13 
and relay stations. 
14 
 
 
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01:28 p.m


2 
 
SEC. 2. Section 6 of Republic Act No. 7966 is hereby repealed. 
1 
SEC. 3. Separability Clause. –  If any part or provision of this Act is held 
2 
invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall 
3 
remain in full force and effect.  
4 
SEC. 4. Repealing Clause. – All general and special laws, decrees, executive 
5 
orders, proclamations and administrative regulation, or any parts thereof which are 
6 
inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended and modified accordingly. 
7 
SEC. 5. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect upon its publication in a 
8 
newspaper of general circulation or in the Official Gazette. Provided, That it shall 
9 
have retroactive effect from May 3, 2020 and shall be in full force and effect until a 
10 
new franchise has been granted to the grantee. 
11 
 
 
Approved,