ABS-CBN should refrain from laying off workers ‘hangga’t kaya,’ says Tolentino

Senator Francis Tolentino on Tuesday said the ABS-CBN Corporation should put off the retrenchment of employees as long as it can while its legislative franchise is still pending in Congress.

"Siguro hangga't kaya nilang huwag mag-terminate, huwag muna silang mag-terminate. May mga company savings naman sila, may mga dividends that were not distributed, so iukol muna nila 'yun sa mga empleyado," Tolentino said in a virtual interview with reporters.

ABS-CBN president and CEO Carlo Katigbak previously said that the company may be forced to lay off some of its workers in August if it will not be able to resume operations soon. The company went off air since May 5 after receiving a cease and desist order from the National Telecommunications Commission.

NTC also ordered ABS-CBN subsidiary SkyCable to "immediately cease and desist operating its Direct Broadcast Satellite Service," underscoring that the legislative franchise granted to SkyCable already expired on May 4.

An "alias" order was also issued by NTC, directing ABS-CBN to cease and desist from operating digital TV transmission in Metro Manila using channel 43. 

A pro-administration senator, Tolentino said he will have to study first which questions he would raise once the bill seeking to grant ABS-CBN a franchise gets elevated to the Senate.

"Aaralin ko muna, having heard some. Hindi ko naman napakinggan kasi lahat 'yung House deliberations so we'll probably study some of the House documents and be objective in all the proceedings," Tolentino said.

When asked if he thinks the Senate deliberation of the media network's franchise would be less harrowing, he responded: "I cannot make any assurance... I cannot predict what will happen."

Nevertheless, he said he will "try to contribute" once the hearing starts in the upper chamber of Congress.

On Monday, Tolentino's brother, Cavite Representative Abraham Tolentino, accused ABS-CBN of being unfair in its coverage of the former's senatorial bid during the continuation of the House joint panel hearing.

The congressman also complained that it was difficult to have their side aired on ABS-CBN in the issues they are involved in.

Katigbak, in response, committed that public officials will be given a chance to air their side on any issue involving them in the network's news platforms.

In 2017, Senator Tolentino filed a libel case against ABS-CBN broadcast journalist Ted Failon over an episode of "Failon Ngayon" that centered on a supposed irregularity in the purchase of second-hand motorcycles used in the Papal visit during his tenure as Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chief.

Failon's legal camp, on the other hand, has maintained that the story was factual and produced without malice, being grounded on a Commission on Audit report. — BM, GMA News