AS A labor coalition, we have been consistently in favor of granting ABS-CBN a franchise as reflected in official statements, media releases, online and live protest actions and position papers submitted to Congress from February 2020 until the present.
As late as May 20, 2020, we submitted a letter addressed to House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, House committee on legislative franchises Rep. Franz Alvarez, Committee on labor Chairperson Rep. Enrico Pineda and Committee on labor Vice Chairperson Rep. Raymond Mendoza, urging the HOR to grant ABS-CBN a pro-worker franchise principally in consideration of the 11,000 jobs that would be lost.
Representative Mendoza acknowledged receipt of the letter on May 21, 2020, and even cited some of Nagkaisa’s arguments in a letter he submitted to Representative Alvarez and Good Government and Public Accountability Chairperson Rep. Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado, in support of a pro-worker franchise by way of proposed amendments to the franchise bill, on July 6.
Thus, members of Nagkaisa—which includes the union of rank and file employees of ABS-CBN, affiliated with Sentro, a member of the coalition—as well as other trade unions and workers’ groups were all in shock upon learning that one of Nagkaisa’s convenors, TUCP Partylist Representative and TUCP President Representative Mendoza, did not toe the line and set aside the jobs of 11,000 workers and the means of survival of their families by voting to deny ABS-CBN a franchise. Many could not hide their disappointment and disgust in public. We have to speak as a coalition.
Nagkaisa asks Representative Mendoza to explain to the coalition the reason behind his vote. He has communicated with us that he will explain his vote, in due time.