Court rebuffs ABS-CBN

TELEVISION giant ABS- CBN Corp. will remain shut after it failed to get legal relief from the Supreme Court, which tackled on Tuesday the network’s petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) two weeks after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a cease and desist order against the company.

As predicted by TheManilaTimes, the high court did not issue a TRO,

ordering instead the NTC to comment on the petition in 10 days.

It also included the Senate and the House of Representatives as parties to the case.

Brian Hosaka, head of the court’s Public Information Office, said the justices were unanimous in their decision not to issue a restraining order.

“The Court required Respondent NTC to file a comment on the petition of ABS-CBN Corporation within a non-extendible period of 10 calendar days from receipt of notice,” he said.

The Senate and the House were also given 10 days to submit their comments in 10 days.

There are only 14 justices of the high court, led by Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta. Associate Justice Andres Reyes Jr. Retired on May 11.

The case was raffled to Senior Associate Justice Estela PerlasBernabe.

The court also rejected the plea of lawyer Larry Gadon to consolidate his petition against ABS-CBN with the petition filed by the broadcast company. Gadon had opposed the network’s petition for a TRO.

ABS- CBN had questioned the NTC’s closure order, saying it should be allowed to continue its operations because it violated no laws.

The network said its closure “would jeopardize the livelihood of more than 11,000 employees and their families” and that it was losing P30 million to P35 million every day that it is off the air.

It accused the NTC of invading ABS- CBN’s right “even as both House of Congress had already expressed their intent and desire to ABS- CBN’s operation to continue during the pendency of the renewal of its legislative franchise.”

Change of plan

The House of Representatives on Monday deliberated on a bill that seeks to grant the network temporary franchise.

But it suspended the deliberations on Tuesday as lawmakers opted to hear measures that aim to grant the network a 25- year franchise.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, principal author of House Bill 6732, said the decision came after lawmakers expressed varying views on the matter.

“The House leadership had decided to forgo with the provisional franchise but we will immediately proceed with the hearings for the 25 year franchise,” Cayetano said in a speech delivered before the plenary on Tuesday.

Majority Leader Martin Romualdez said the plenary would now refocus on pending measures in response to the pandemic while the ABS-CBN franchise would be heard at the committee level.

“The Committee on Legislative Franchises will take the lead in hearing the matters of the [ABSCBN], as well as the other franchises pending before it. They are ready, able and willing to act with expediency to meet the urgency of the franchise applications,” Romualdez said.

No interference

Malacañang on Tuesday said it would not interfere in the decision of the Supreme Court.

“Hi na hay a an lang po nat inang K or te[ Sup re ma] an gm ag des is yon diyan (We will let the Supreme Court decide on that),” Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said.

“Atkungwalapong TRO, ibig sabih in, hindi po sig uro convinced ang Kort eS up rem ana hindi kinakailanganang TRO ( And if there’s no TRO, it means the Supreme Court is not convinced that there’s a need for a TRO),” he added.

At the Senate, senators debated with legal luminaries as the public services committee presided over by the committee’s vice chairman Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian tackled the ABS-CBN franchise bill even without a measure coming from the House.

On May 11, 2020, at least 13 senators jointly filed a bill that will grant ABS- CBN a provisional franchise.

Under Senate Bill 1521, ABSCBN will be allowed to operate until June 30, 2022 “to give Congress further time to deliberate on the company’s franchise.”

Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd and Senators Francis Tolentino and Panfilo Lacson expressed reservations on taking up the Senate franchise bill, as the House is still working on its version of the measure.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, however, said as a matter of procedure, the Senate could conduct hearings on the ABSCBN franchise bill while waiting for the transmittal of the Houseapproved version of the bill.

Former chief justice Reynato Puno told the committee that the Senate should await the transmission of the bill coming from the House.

“Obviously, there is a high purpose or the Constitution makes this sequence of acts,” Puno said.

The former chief justice emphasized that under the law, a franchise bill must originate from the House.

Former Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile said there was no urgency to tackle the issue.

Enrile, via teleconference, said what is important is for the people to get information on the pandemic, which the people can get from radio.

He added that the question of communication and dissemination is not an issue but that the Philippine Constitution and laws must be followed.

He said he doubted whether Congress has the power to grant provisional authority to ABS-CBN.