Published January 28, 2021 1:30pm
Updated January 28, 2021 3:46pm By ERWIN COLCOL, GMA News The issue of the franchise renewal of broadcast firm ABS-CBN is best addressed in the next Congress, House committee on legislative franchises chair Franz Alvarez said Thursday. Alvarez made the remark amid new moves to reopen the deliberations on the ABS-CBN franchise renewal bid, and the assertion of Anakalusugan party-list Representative Mike Defensor for the House plenary to take up the unresolved measure granting the network a provisional franchise. Based on my understanding from the House leadership, the ABS-CBN franchise issue is best left to the next Congress, Alvarez said in a statement to reporters.
An end to rising prices of prime commodities and ensuring the availability of COVID-19 vaccines for Filipinos, not Charter change, should be the main concerns and priorities of the House of Representatives, former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said Saturday, Jan. 23.
Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano
Int
Alan Peter Cayetano / FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN)
“Thank you for the trust Mr. President. I will continue to stand with you as we fight for what we started in 2016. To help fulfill our promises to our people. I believe Filipinos deserve the best. I believe that you want to give the Filipinos the Best. We are here to help in any way,” he wrote.
The former Speaker then threw in the words, “Bayanihan, Tapang, Serbisyo (cooperation, courage, and service),” which is among the expansions of his new favorite acronym, BTS.
Cayetano and a handful of his staunch allies in the House of Representatives formally launched the BTS coalition last Thursday.
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano
(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN / FILE PHOTO)
However, Cayetano quickly allayed the fears aired over the formation of the BTS which the former speaker described as the acronym for “back to service” or Bayanihan Tapang at Serbisyo (cooperation, courage and service).
Cayetano also quickly addressed the protest aired by fans of the BTS, a South Korean pop, who accused his group of using the popularity of the K-Pop group for political ends.
The #CayetanoStopUsingBTS started trending on social media a day after Cayetano’s media group announced that his version of BTS will be launched tomorrow.
The former House leader admitted that naming their group BTS is one way of getting “people’s attention” but is not meant at offending fans.
By ERWIN COLCOL, GMA News
Published January 11, 2021 3:32pm If there are minimal debates over it, the measure seeking to propose amendments to the restrictive economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution may hurdle the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments this week. House panel chair Alfredo Garbin made the remark on Monday as his committee gears up for Charter change (Cha-cha) deliberations in the chamber on Wednesday. Sa tingin ko naman, kung wala na masyadong tanong, at napagpasyahan na ng members ng committee, we can approve the bill [this week] so we can proceed coming up with a committee report para ito ay mai-adopt at mai-refer na sa plenaryo, Garbin told reporters in a virtual interview.