SC to hear ABS-CBN case on June 2

The Supreme Court (SC) will tackle the case of ABS-CBN Corp. in an en banc session on June 2 after the government submitted its comment to the network’s petition for a temporary restraining order.

The high court has yet to determine if it will hold the en banc session face to face or via videoconference.

The tribunal will discuss the comment filed by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), which asked the court to junk ABS-CBN’s petition. The NTC ordered the network to stop its operations after its franchise lapsed early this month.

Last week, the tribunal included the House of Representatives and the Senate as parties to the case and ordered the two chambers to also file their comments.

In its 98-page comment, the NTC, represented by the Office of the Solicitor General, said the network’s petition should be dismissed for lack of merit.

It maintained that the cease and desist order (CDO) it issued against ABS-CBN was lawful since it was purely an administrative act that was within the powers of the agency.

“The NTC respected the jurisdiction of Congress because the expiration and renewal of petitioner’s franchise is an expression of legislative will,” it said.

“The NTC’s issuance of the CDO did not curtail ABS- CBN’s right to freedom of speech and of the press. Neither did it deprive the public of its right to information. The petitioner’s alleged right to freedom of speech and of the press in relation to its broadcast operations becomes irrelevant because it had already lost its privilege to use the State’s frequency for such purposes,” the commission said.

The NTC also asked the high court to drop the House and the Senate as parties to the case.

Meanwhile, a source said ABSCBN might start laying off workers in August if the network remains closed.