FALSE: 19th Congress rejects bill seeking to renew ABS-CBN franchise

At a glance

• Claim: A House bill filed by Makabayan lawmakers seeking to renew the franchise of ABS-CBN got rejected by the members of the 19th Congress.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: According to the session bulletin of the House of Representatives, the first session for the 19th Congress has not yet started. The first session for the 19th Congress will start on July 25.
• Why we fact-checked this: As of writing, the video containing the claim has gotten more than 38,000 views on YouTube.

Complete details

Last July 7, YouTube channel “Showbiz Fanaticz” posted a five-minute video titled “JUST IN: Hiling ng MAKABAYAN BLOC NA BIGYAN Muli ng PRANGKISA ang ABSCBN| IBINASURA AGAD| ABS, IYAK!” (JUST IN: Makabayan bloc’s proposal to grant ABS-CBN a franchise anew is immediately thrown out. ABS is crying!)

This is false.

According to the session bulletin of the House of Representatives, the first session for the 19th Congress has not yet started. The first session for the 19th Congress will start on July 25. The last session posted on the bulletin is the session and adjournment of the 18th Congress dated June 1, 2022.

Makabayan bloc members ACT-Teachers Representative France Castro, Gabriela Representative Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan Representative Raoul Manuel filed last July 5 House Bill No. 1218, seeking to grant ABS-CBN a 25-year franchise, after the 18th Congress rejected the renewal of its franchise in 2020. – Erick Prynze Sazon/Rappler.com

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