TRANSCRIPT OF SEN. GRACE POE's OPENING STATEMENT
Senate Committee on Public Services Hearing on Franchises
Sept. 23, 2020

This public hearing is called with regard to 11 House Bills and five Senate counterpart bills on the application for 11 franchises:

- Three telco franchises which we initially heard last time which are Cruztelco, Bayantel, and Tandag;

- Five broadcast franchises namely FBS Radio Network, Inc., Century Communications Marketing Center, Inc., Caceres Broadcasting Corporation, Negros Broadcasting and Publishing Corporation, and Philippine Collective Media Corporation;

- And three other franchises from various groups namely San Miguel Aerocity, Davao Light and Power Company Inc., and Metro Manila Turf Club, Inc.

By authority under the Constitution and as practiced here in the Senate, we grant a franchise only after establishing that there is a public need for such a service and that the applicant has the means to adequately provide it.

So today, we have summoned the applicants so they can themselves explain how they will be able to provide for the services that they propose to deliver. We have also invited the government regulators to ask them if the applicants have faithfully complied with all the duties and the deliverables which were attached as conditions for the enjoyment of their existing franchises.

Ang mga prangkisa ay hindi lamang pribilehiyo kung hindi isa ring checklist kung nagawa ba ng mga aplikante ang kanyang mga obligasyon at tungkulin sa publiko.

We also invited stakeholders to air their views as these franchises are truly just in the service of the public. If the public wants or needs it, we will grant it.

We want to make sure that all applicants are fit to offer their avowed public service so as to encourage competition and drive companies to provide better service. For those services that are natural monopolies, we will evaluate if they truly deserve the exclusive privilege of the franchise.

There are a lot of franchises up for hearing today but we will try to go through them with as much efficiency as possible.