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| Former Cabinet member Rigoberto Tiglao and Alan Peter Cayetano | Photo from Facebook and Manila Bulletin |
Veteran
columnist Rigoberto Tiglao thinks something is fishy with House Speaker Alan
Peter Cayetano’s move to pass a provisional franchise for ABS-CBN.
In his
column for the Manila Times on May 15, Tiglao said Cayetano defied President
Rodrigo Duterte by authoring House Bill 6732, which will make a way for the
Lopez-led network to get on the air until October 31, 2020.
Cayetano’s
bill had also passed on second reading on the same day it was filed and
tackled by the House, yes, that fast.
“In a move
that exploited to the hilt all the powers of the speaker, he himself filed a
bill to give ABS-CBN a “provisional franchise” to operate until October,
ordered the House to convene to take over the functions of its committee on
legislative franchises, and asked for a vote on the passage of his bill
—through the very dubious process of yelling
“Aye” or “Nay.”” Tiglao wrote
Tiglao, a
former Cabinet member, also suspects who many voted for or against it, as there
was no report about it at all.
The columnist
cannot help but wonder, if what happened is a kind of camaraderie that the public cannot
see between Cayetano and ABS CBN’s major owner, Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez.
Tiglao said
Cayetano’s motives were hinted when he lambasted the National Telecommunications
Commission and Solicitor General Jose Calida for working on to shutdown ABS CBN.
“Why did he
lash out at two of Duterte’s officials so viciously, saying Solicitor General
Jose Calida and National Telecommunications Commission head Gamaliel Cordoba
will have their “day of reckoning”? Had
he told the Lopezes that he had everything under control, and when Cordoba
issued the cease-and-desist order, was he so embarrassed he couldn’t deliver
what he promised the oligarch that he vented his anger at the two?” the
columnist asked
“Why, at
this time indeed when we are in midst of a pandemic, would he give a 45-minute speech, call House members
to meeting which risked their being infected with the coronavirus, and use all
the powers of the speakership to pass a law to extend the franchise of a
private firm?
“Is the
intention to give the oligarch a chance to regroup his forces, probably raise
more funds to bribe Congress, and to mount a more powerful PR campaign for its
agenda?” Tiglao said
Tiglao also
said that Cayetano is wrong if he thinks that depending ABS CBN will get him more
votes in 2022.
“If
Cayetano thinks his spirited defense of ABS-CBN will endear him to the masses
and get him votes in 2022, he is so wrong, obviously thinking that Filipinos
are so stupid as to believe the appeals of such ABS-CBN actors as Coco Martin,
Kim Chiu and Angel Locsin.” He said
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