Published February 29, 2020 9:10pm

House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano had the support of 48 lawmakers from the Visayas over the ABS-CBN network franchise issue, Cebu Representative Vincent Frasco said Saturday.

“With due respect to former Cong. [Alfredo] Benitez, I can speak as Chairman of the Visayas Development Committee that my fellow Visayas representatives stand solidly behind Speaker Alan," Frasco said.

Former Negros Occidental Representative Benitez claimed earlier that the Visayas bloc wanted Congress to act quickly on ABS-CBN's franchise renewal.

Cayetano meanwhile had pushed for ABS-CBN's continued operation under a provisional authority as its franchise would expire on May 4.

However, the Speaker emphasized that Congress would not be rushed into deliberating on the extension.

On Wednesday, the House franchise committee requested the National Telecommunications Commission to grant ABS-CBN a provisional authority to operate until Congress decides on the network's franchise renewal application.

"[The] Visayas bloc remains fully supportive of Speaker Alan, who has demonstrated the kind of leadership, dedication, and service to the people that we need to restore the public’s trust and confidence in the House of Representatives," Frasco said.

"We will continue to heed the Speaker’s guidance, as we believe that his fair and uncompromising stand on issues such as the ABS-CBN franchise renewal is the appropriate way of handling such concerns,” he added.

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevara said that the House franchise committee's request was enough for NTC to allow ABS-CBN to operate. — Joahna Lei Casilao/DVM, GMA News