ABS-CBN is a Philippine commercial broadcast network that serves as the flagship property of the ABS-CBN Corporation,a company under Lopez Holdings Corporation owned by the López family. The network is headquartered at the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center in Quezon City,with additional offices and production facilities in 25 major cities including Baguio,Naga,Bacolod,Iloilo,Cebu,Davao,and Bulacan,where ABS-CBN's production and post-production facility in Horizon IT Park is located. ABS-CBN is colloquially referred to as the Kapamilya Network;its brand was originally introduced in 1999 and was officially introduced in 2003 during the celebration of its 50th anniversary,and was used until it was forced by the National Telecommunications Commission to cease and desist from free-to-air broadcasting due to the lack of congressional franchise. ABS-CBN is the largest media company in the Philippines and oldest television broadcaster in Southeast Asia.
Michael Tan Defensor is a Filipino politician who most recently served as the Party-list Representative for Anakalusugan from 2019 to 2022. He is also the CEO of Pax Libera Mining,Inc.
Alan Peter Schramm Cayetano is a Filipino lawyer and diplomat serving as a Senator since 2022 and previously from 2007 to 2017. He was the Senate Minority Leader from 2010 to 2013,and later Senate Majority Leader from 2013 to 2016. He also served as the Representative of Taguig–Pateros from 1998 to 2007 and from 2019 to 2022 and was the Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2019 until his resignation in 2020. He also served as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 2017 to 2018 in the cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte,after unsuccessfully running for vice president in the 2016 elections as Duterte's running mate.
Danilo Ramon Subiaga Fernandez,more commonly known as Dan Fernandez,is a Filipino politician,actor,and optometrist who is currently serving as a representative of the Lone District of Santa Rosa,Laguna at the House of Representatives of the Philippines since 2022. He previously represented the 1st District of Laguna from 2007 to 2016 and again from 2019 to 2022;he also concurrently served as a Deputy Speaker from 2019 to 2020. Prior to his election in the Congress,he served as a board member of Laguna from 1998 to 2001,Vice Governor of Laguna from 2001 to 2004,and Mayor of Santa Rosa from 2016 to 2019. He also ran for governor in 2004 but lost to incumbent Governor Teresita Lazaro.
Mari Grace Preciosa Hipolito-Castelo,commonly known as Precious Hipolito-Castelo,is a Filipina actress,newscaster,and politician who last served as Representative of the 2nd district of Quezon City in the Philippines. She also served as city councilor from the same district from 2010 to 2019. She is a former child star,film and television actress and newscaster. In 1987,she won the FAMAS Award as Best Child Actress for Ang Daigdig Ay Isang Butil Na Luha.
Raneo "Ranie" Enriquez Abu is a Filipino politician serving as the Representative of Batangas's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2022. He served as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 2016 until his removal on 2020.
Ferdinand Martin Gomez Romualdez is a Filipino businessman,lawyer and politician serving as the Speaker of the House of Representatives since July 25,2022. He is also serving as the representative for the 1st district of Leyte since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2016. He formerly served as the House Majority Leader from 2019 to 2022,and unsuccessfully ran for senator in the 2016 elections. He is a first cousin of President Bongbong Marcos. Since May 17,2023,he has been widely considered to be the country's de facto "prime minister" after the ouster of Senior Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,becoming the main catalyst to the 2024 Philippine political crisis
The 17th Congress of the Philippines,composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives,met from July 25,2016,until June 4,2019,during the first three years of Rodrigo Duterte's presidency. The convening of the 17th Congress followed the 2016 general elections,which replaced half of the Senate membership and the entire membership of the House of Representatives.
Eric Go Yap is a Filipino politician serving as the Representative for Benguet's lone congressional district since 2022,and was the district's legislative caretaker from January 2020 until he was elected in his own right. He was a party-list representative for ACT-CIS from 2019 to 2022,and is the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations since March 2020.
Sarah Jane Ibañez Elago is a Filipino activist and politician. She was a member of the Philippine House of Representatives for its 17th and 18th Congress,both times representing the youth sector under Kabataan Party-list. Before entering Congress,she was also the national president of the National Union of Students in the Philippines. As of May 2019,she was the youngest female lawmaker in the Philippines.
The renewal of the congressional franchise of the Philippine media network ABS-CBN to continue broadcasting was a dispute between the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte and the media conglomerate arising on the terms and conditions of the franchise renewal agreement. Amid the controversy,the Congress of the Philippines,country's legislature,was unable to renew the franchise before its expiration date. The congressional franchise expired on May 4,2020,as the Philippines was dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon. The next day,exercising constitutional powers,the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) then issued a cease-and-desist order demanding ABS-CBN to cease all of its free TV and radio broadcasting immediately. ABS-CBN complied with the government order and shut down all of its radio stations and free television channels later that day. On June 30,2020,the NTC released two alias cease-and-desist orders against ABS-CBN TV Plus and Sky Direct.
Dulce Ann Hofer Santos is a Filipina educator and politician from the province of Zamboanga Sibugay. She is currently the Governor of Zamboanga Sibugay since 2022.
Deogracias Victor "DV" Barbers Savellano is a Filipino politician who last served as a member of the House of Representatives for Ilocos Sur's 1st district from 2016 to 2022. He was also one of the Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives from 2019 to 2022.
Rodante Dizon Marcoleta is a Filipino politician serving as the party-list representative for SAGIP since 2016. He is a former House Deputy Speaker of the 18th Congress from 2019 to 2022. A successful member of the religious organization Iglesia ni Cristo,Marcoleta is one of the vocal opponents against ABS-CBN and Meralco one of the 70 representatives who voted to permanently deny the franchise renewal of the network and 70 representatives who voted to permanently deny the franchise renewal of the electricity as well as responsible for the termination of ABS-CBN Meralco and TV5's landmark partnership deal. Marcoleta is also the host of Net 25 public affairs program,Sa Ganang Mamamayan.
Henry Sevilla Oaminal Sr. is a Filipino politician,lawyer,and businessman serving as the governor of Misamis Occidental since 2022. He was the Representative of Misamis Occidental's 2nd district from 2013 to 2022 and was a House Deputy Speaker from 2019 to 2022.
Divina Grace Yu is a Filipino politician who currently serves as the representative of the first district of Zamboanga del Sur in the 17th and 18th Congress of the Philippines. She previously served as city vice mayor of Pagadian. Yu is among the 70 representatives who voted to reject the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN.
Gil "Kabarangay" Abesamis Acosta Jr. is a Filipino politician,lawyer and psychologist who served as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the 3rd District of Palawan from 2019 to 2022.
Antonio "Tonypet" Taguinod Albano is a Filipino politician currently serving as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the 1st District of Isabela since 2019 and a Deputy Speaker since 2023. He previousy served as Vice Governor of Isabela from 2013 to 2019,chairman of Radio Philippines Network Inc. from 2007 to 2011,and as president and CEO of the same network from 2009 to 2012. He is also the Region II chairman of the Lakas–CMD party.
Antonino "Tony" Gallardo Calixto is a Filipino businessman and politician. He currently serves as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the Lone District of Pasay. He previously served as mayor of Pasay from 2010 until 2019,vice mayor from 2001 to 2010,and councilor from 1995 to 2001.
Arnolfo "Arnie" Alipit Teves Jr. is a Filipino politician and businessman. A member of the Nationalist People's Coalition,he last served as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the 3rd District of Negros Oriental from 2016 to his expulsion in 2023. He also served as a deputy speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives from 2020 to 2022.
