ABS-CBN shutdown threatens credibility of government
Iwas among those who closely followed developments on the renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise. With the rest of the nation, I heaved a sigh of relief when the National Telecommunications Commission (which is under the Executive Department), upon the advice by the Department of Justice, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and an overwhelming majority of the senators – gave assurances in public hearings that ABS-CBN could operate provisionally beyond the end of its franchise on May 4, 2020, while the network's franchise renewal application was being deliberated upon by Congress.
Therefore, it came as a shock, even a betrayal of trust, when the NTC issued a cease-and-desist order to ABS-CBN to stop operating last May 5, 2020, because its franchise had expired. The timing could not have been worse. The people rely on ABS-CBN as a major source of information on the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the order, 11,000 workers of ABS-CBN are bound to join the ranks of millions of jobless Filipinos aggravated by business closures caused by the pandemic.
Was this government action well thought out or just pure and simple treachery to shut down the network for reasons only those behind it know?
Were all the previous statements about granting ABS-CBN provisional authority to operate just part of a grand conspiracy? Was it after all just a Machiavellian goodcop-bad-cop scheme to simply shut down ABS-CBN and lay the blame on some scapegoat to evade the ire of millions of grateful followers of the network who rely on it for news, relevant information, and entertainment?
Not only is the cease-and-desist order (CDO) a clear and blatant abuse of authority and discretion by NTC, but it is also a “usurpation of the original and exclusive power of the House of Representatives to grant franchises,” according to my schoolmate Occidental Mindoro lone district Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato.
Legal arguments, for sure, will be advanced to justify the NTC order — that since there is as yet no law granting renewal of the network's franchise, then there is nothing to extend; therefore, no franchise, no operation. Never mind if NTC itself, under oath, gave a resounding and emphatic assurance during Senate and House hearings that it would grant provisional authority (some may refer to this as a temporary permit to operate) to ABS-CBN while its franchise application is still being heard in Congress.
On the other hand, legal principles can be invoked by those who would demolish the NTC order as unconstitutional for being violative of the constitutional principle of equal protection of the law since similar cases of networks, stations, and other telecom entities with expired franchises had been granted provisional authority to operate while their franchise renewal applications were still being acted upon by Congress. This constitutional principle, together with the overarching principle of equity, are hallmarks of our legal system.
Many others with expired franchises had indeed been allowed to operate pending renewal, Rep. Sato said, citing GMA network, TV5, CBCP broadcast, and Subic Broadcasting Corp. “Records of the NTC would show that in 2015, they issued 338 provisional permits to franchisees which lapsed before Congress could approve them, 171 in 2016, 259 in 2017, 155 in 2018, and 300 in 2019,” she said in an
ANC interview.
Very recently, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno opined that NTC should have first given ABS-CBN a "show cause order" before issuing the cease and desist order.
Dean Soledad Mawis of the Lyceum of the Philippines University College of Law pointed out that aside from press freedom and equal treatment, the closure of ABS-CBN is also a question of due process. “Before the CDO was issued, at the very least NTC should have given ABS-CBN an opportunity to be heard on the matter,” she said.
But the issue now goes beyond legal argumentation.
With public outrage over the shutdown pervading almost all sectors of Philippine society, government leaders from the executive and the legislative must act posthaste to immediately rectify this injustice against ABS-CBN. NTC can recall its order and issue the promised provisional authority, or Congress can issue a provisional franchise while its deliberation on the matter remains unfinished. Otherwise, our people's trust and faith in our leaders will continuously erode and threaten the credibility of the present government.