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Will ABS-CBN franchise vote figure in 2022 elections? Expert weighs in

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Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/07/10/20200709-abs-cbn-franchise-hearing-jc-8762.jpg"/><figcaption>Cavite 7th District Rep. Boying Remulla, SAGIP Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, and Anakalusugan Party-list Rep. Mike Defensor talk before the House of Representatives summation on the ABS-CBN franchise hearing at the House of Representatives at the Batasan Pambansa complex in Quezon City, July 09, 2020. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — Exactly a year ago, a House committee dominated by allies of President Rodrigo Duterte killed the franchise application of the country’s then-largest media network, in what critics say was a tightening of the noose around press freedom. Booted out of free television and radio, ABS-CBN Corp. was forced to slash around half of its workforce at a time when millions were unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The media giant also shuttered its regional stations which millions in the provinces depended on for news and entertainment. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/multimedia/slideshow/07/09/21/abs-cbn-franchise-rejection-shame-vote">A shameful vote?: Why House still refuses to identify those who rejected ABS-CBN franchise bid</a></li></ul>Three in 4 respondents in a Social Weather Stations survey in July 2020 said Congress should renew ABS-CBN’s franchise. Following the franchise rejection, 65 percent of respondents in a separate poll agreed it was &quot;dangerous&quot; to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration, &quot;even if it is the truth,&quot; said SWS.But will their vote matter when the Filipino electorate chooses their leaders in the 2022 elections? &quot;Whether or not that would figure in terms of the election outcome would depend on who your voters are,&quot; said media law and ethics expert Marichu Lambino. Tech-savvy younger voters, who have more access to information and are less gullible to online trolling, can cause a change in government, Lambino told ABS-CBN News. &quot;The possible number of new voters could spell the difference between who will be voted and who will be voted out,&quot; she said. Lambino said what voters &quot;should keep in mind is never again install an administration on the basis of names or on the basis of name recall, but remember everything.&quot; &quot;Remember all the lives and all the freedoms that we lost during the pandemic, most of which could have been prevented, if the incumbent administration had the competence and the required respect for life and for freedoms,&quot; she said. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/02/21/deped-youth-vote-2022-elections">DepEd: Youth vote has &#x27;potential power&#x27; to influence elections</a></li></ul>The July 10, 2020 House panel vote against ABS-CBN&#x27;s fresh franchise was a fruition of President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s oft repeated threats against the network. Duterte early in his term accused ABS-CBN of failing to air his 2016 campaign adverts and not returning the payments, and singled the network out for ire in his speeches. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/24/20/abs-cbn-chief-says-all-duterte-national-pol-ads-aired">ABS-CBN chief says all Duterte national pol ads aired</a></li></ul>Almost a year later, it seems the President&#x27;s sentiment has not changed. On July 1, an ABS-CBN reporter asked him of his potential vice presidential run. &quot;You are from ABS-CBN?&quot; he asked the reporter. &quot;So ABS-CBN is expecting me to lose because they will campaign against me?&quot; The reporter replied, &quot;No, sir... I’m just following up a story.&quot; For Lambino, this exchange shows Duterte&#x27;s &quot;strong bias against ABS-CBN, which had been the underlying motive for him and his allies in the House to campaign for and eventually shut down ABS-CBN and deny it of its franchise.&quot; &quot;Aside from all the pronouncements he made na ipapasara niya (what he said that he will close it down) or he will cause the shutdown of ABS-CBN, what he said finally laid down, finally clinched it, that up to now, when millions have died all over the world… he’s still thinking of his relationship with ABS-CBN,&quot; said Lambino.&quot;You can still see that he is driven by vengeful wrath against any entity that is not supportive of him, which is anathema to a constitutional democracy.&quot;Duterte&#x27;s aides deny he had a hand in ABS-CBN’s woes. They say the franchise rejection was the sole prerogative of lawmakers. However, just days after the its franchise rejection, Duterte said in a speech the network disrespected him and that he has supposedly succeeded in ending oligarchy &quot;without declaring martial law.&quot;<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/07/16/20/audio-clip-reveals-duterte-chided-abs-cbn-in-dismantling-oligarchy-speech">Audio clip reveals Duterte chided ABS-CBN in &#x27;dismantling oligarchy&#x27; speech</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/10/20/abs-cbn-franchise-death-part-of-admins-kill-kill-kill-legacy-media-watchdog-head">ABS-CBN franchise death part of admin&#x27;s &#x27;kill, kill, kill&#x27; legacy: media watchdog trustee</a></li></ul><div>RELATED VIDEO</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1724272" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

MANILA — Exactly a year ago, a House committee dominated by allies of President Rodrigo Duterte killed the franchise application of the country’s then-largest media network, in what critics say was a tightening of the noose around press freedom.

MANILA — Exactly a year ago, a House committee dominated by allies of President Rodrigo Duterte killed the franchise application of the country’s then-largest media network, in what critics say was a tightening of the noose around press freedom.

Will ABS-CBN franchise vote figure in 2022 elections? Expert weighs in

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Will ABS-CBN franchise vote figure in 2022 elections? Expert weighs in

Jamaine Punzalan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 10, 2021 11:47 AM PHT

Read More:

ABS-CBN franchise

ABS-CBN franchise rejection

ABS-CBN franchise July 10 vote

House vote July 10 ABS-CBN

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