Ganito kasi yan. Patong patong kasi na issues ang nagkamix-up na. In short may FRAGMENTATION, sobrang gulo.

So eto ang mga major issues:

1. Yung Existing na Franchise daw ni ABSCBN is Null and Void in the first place.
2. May 4, 2020 ang exact expiration date ng 25 year Franchise of ABSCBN Corp. na may renewal na inapply nung
2014 , 2016 and 2019.
3. PNOY Admin did not grant the franchise due to discrepancies on their application for renewal last 2014.
4. They had multiple Labor Issues even up to now pending.
5. The station irked the PRRD’s anger regarding the Election Ads issue on payment and destabilization.
6. The Franchise of ABSCBN Corp. according to FICTAP, states that it is in violation of its original application of One
Channel to Multiple Channels.

Dahil sa mga problems na ito, muli itong nahalungkat since papalpit na nga ang expiration ng franchise. Actually
naabutan na tlga. So what went wrong along the way?

There was a reapplication nung November 10, 2016 with the conditions na cited ni Sol-Gen. Calida sa kanyang
Petition. Here’s the actual doc:
http://www.congress.gov.ph/legisdocs/basic_17/HB04349.pdf
(Note on: Sections - 5,6,7,8,910...actually lahat basahin nyo)

A new 2019 reapplication was sponsored again by 2 congressmen but was still put into shelf until on December 2019,
House Speaker Allan Cayetano said that they’ll have it tackled Jan-March 2020 since the affiliate’s franchise expiry is
March 30, 2020 and ABSCBN Corps’s Franchise expires May 4, 2020. Kaso, we had the Global Pandemic which
prompted for Lockdowns.

Unfortunately, walang umusad sa congress which, for me personally, “felt weird & left me wondering” bakit walang
action nga ba since the start until present. So let’s go back sa 2014 application. Why did the PNOY Admin not
process the renewal where in fact it only takes 1-2 months to release a Franchise Renewal? The answer lies to the
petition of FICTAP (Federation of the International Cable TV and Telecommunications Association of the Philippines).
As per claims, ABSCBN’s Franchise Renewal is not congruent to its original application of “One Channel” instead it
allowed the override of “Multiple Channels” Application for a single Franchise. They are also against it since it is
killing the local Cable TV Providers through its “Mahiwagang Black Box: The ABSCBN TV Plus”. According to the
law, only one Franchise is given to one Channel. Pero may isang chismis, PNOY was against former VP Noli De
Castro and Ted Failon but since it was only a “chismis” let’s not dwell on that kasi di tayo Chismosa at Chismoso.

Now the plot thickens. The franchise was put on hold in Congress until PRRD came into power in 2016. So let’s eat
some more popcorns. Unfortunately that time, ABSCBN executives didn’t know how to play “POLITICALLY”. When
we say “political” it means how you play with the rules without breaking the rules that will benefit both parties and
arrive at a win-win situation. At this time, PRRD was irked with the ads on tainting his image with the release of the so
called funded Trillanes-Ads. Also in-line with this, the issue on payments vs ad airtime. This was not addressed until
February 2020 and was cleared during the Senate Hearing led by Sen. Grace Poe to which the President accepted
the company CEO’s apology.

So ayun na nga. Nagkaroon ng lamat. Nagkaroon ng issue. What boggles me is why the company’s executive didn’t
bother to find concrete and clearer ways to clean up the mess and the allegations filed against them by FICTAP. Are
they aware or they just let their legal adviser handle the chess game? I pity the employees here though. They are the
ones who are sandwiched big-time. Since it is like of National Interest spreading over the news regarding the
allegations, the Sol-Gen enters the spotlight. Take note that the OSG is the Lawyer of the Philippines, its Government
and its People vs other entities. Early this year, he crafted 3 issues that supports his claims on Quo Warranto
Petition. To explain: A “Quo Warranto” is a writ or legal action requiring a person to show by what warrant an office or
franchise is held, claimed, or exercised. According to him:

“The franchises of ABS-CBN Corporation and ABS-CBN Convergence have to be revoked for the gross violations
they have committed. A forfeiture of a franchise will have to be declared in a direct proceeding for the purpose
brought by he State because a franchise is granted by law and its unlawful exercise is primarily a concern of the
Government. Quo warranto is specifically available as a remedy if it is thought that a corporation has offended
against its corporate charted or misused its franchise.”

In short: The existing Franchise granted to them for 25 years has been considered NULL and VOID from the very
start with the following reasons:
1. Foreign Ownership thru PDRs.
2. Operation of Pay-Per View Channel thru Free-to-Air Signals (KBO)
3. Transfer of Multi-Media Telephony’s Franchise to Convergence

To clear things up:

ABS-CBN has no TAX ISSUES with BIR. Again NO TAX ISSUES. They are tax compliant. Let’s make that VERY
CLEAR.

On May 5, 2020, NTC released a Cease and Desist Order against ABS-CBN Corp. to operate May 5, 2020 onwards
since their 25 year Franchise just expired last May 4, 2020. The March 17, 2020 expiration was their affiliate’s
ABSCBN Convergence Inc. This prompted the station to go Off-Air.

So why NTC released such order? Simple, it followed a Rule of Law. If it did not release such order they will be
technically held liable for Graft and Corruption. It’s analogous to your Post Paid Line being automatically cut by the
Computer after so many text warnings of unsettlement and it irked you to call the hotline to request for extension or
simply fix it by paying your bill then reconnection follows. The executives in NTC were clearly just following the rules
since they were reminded by the OSG and it’s really technically unlawful not to do their job which would also be unfair
to other companies with similar issues.

So what’s next? Nothing is permanent. There are ways to solve this mess. I personally is not in favor for the NTC’s
Order but I guess this will be reminder or a wake-up call to everyone that rules and laws have to be followed specially
on this kind of legalities in business operations. Specific Items, descriptions or dates are very crucial in regards to this
kind of scenario. The company can simply file for a request to lift the order thru a reasonable explanation but
unfortunately, since the time the OSG filed the Quo Warranto, no documents were presented to deny the facts but
instead resorted to Public Sympathy thru their wide Broadcasting Network and its Employees specifically the Artists
and well known personalities. If only the executives reached out, explained and defended themselves well in the
“RIGHT COURTS” things would have not turned out this way. But, there’s a big BUT, NTC should have considered
the current crisis happening now given that there are a lot suffering from joblessness and financial instability. NTC
should have reconsidered the lifting of the said orders as analogous to the Bayanihan Act’s lifting of Rental Fees,
Mortages and the alike. But unfortunately again, ABS-CBN’s case is not a priority in the Bayanihan Act simply
because, their case has 100% nothing to do with the current CRISIS. But then again, a little consideration should
have been applied.

. What will happen now to their employees? As mandated in the constitution, any kind of businesses that are for
closure or cease operations due to any legal reasons are required to give a separation pay to all its eligible
employees. But, technically ABSCBN was not totally shutdown, it was just not allowed from operating until a new
Franchise is released. So in the near future, for sure ABSCBN will rise up again as long as they have ironed up all the
mess and chaotic situations that arose since 2014. But how about their employees? How can they be financially
supported? Their company is really rich! Like totally RICH. It has a lot of investments in other business forms and it
has a lot of partners and investors.

But what if worst case scenarios happen like, the company will not comply to the requirements? Or the gov’t will be
really hard on them? There’s only one simple and legal way to have a franchise right away without the hassles and
jeopardies in filing one: Transfer Ownership and Change of Management. UDENA and AYALA are on top of the list
and we do not know what lies ahead.

Again, i am personally against with the NTC order. I prefer that the “management and executive” be reprimanded for
failing to secure their employees about the status of their operations. A lot of time was given yet little action was
made. But given the info that they are still financially supported brings us to a conclusion not to dwell on the “11k lost
jobs” because if they insist on that issue, mind you, they’ll have another bigger issues about it with DOLE and other
gov’t agencies due to their misdeclaration. Remember, they still have a pending case for the Labor Mistreatment and
Removal. I hope and pray that both parties will be enlightened not to stick too much on their principles and that
ABSCBN should think about the future of their company and current employees who are sacrificing themselves to
protect the integrity of the company.

For me, the Company as a Company is not at fault but it’s the executives, managers, controllers and legal advisers
who mishandled this mess should be blamed, reprimanded and penalized. It’s again analogous to a reprimanded
motorist without license. If only you have the license to drive, you’ll never be reprimanded for such violation. I hope
this will be a wake up call, not just for big companies but to all Legitimate and Illegitimate Companies.