Govt won’t let up case vs ABS-CBN
Credit to Author: Catherine S. Valente, TMT| Date: Sat, 29 Feb 2020 16:25:58 +0000
A petition of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to nullify ABS-CBN Corp.’s franchise will still push through even after President Rodrigo Duterte accepted the network giant’s apology over a critical campaign commercial, a Malacañang official said on Saturday.
In a media interview, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo reiterated that Duterte’s displeasure with ABS-CBN had nothing to do with the franchise issues hounding the station.
He said Solicitor General Jose Calida lodged a quo warranto petition against ABS-CBN on his own.
“Let me again reiterate the position: The quo warranto has nothing to do with the personal feeling of displeasure, hurt and offense of the President. The SolGen (Solicitor General) has a constitutional duty to do what he has done and the President has also nothing to do with the work of Congress,” Panelo added.
“The franchise renewal of ABS-CBN has been there, filed in 2014 prior to the assumption of this President. So, there is no way by which anybody can be blaming this President for the inaction of Congress whether the previous Congress or the present Congress. The grant and renewal lies mainly and exclusively with Congress,” he said.
ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal was highlighted earlier this month by the quo warranto petition of Calida.
The solicitor general had cited “highly abusive” practices by the network — including foreign ownership and operational issues — allegations that the television network itself had debunked.
On Monday, ABS-CBN President and Chief Executive Officer Carlo Katigbak offered a public apology to the President for airing a political advertisement that offended the former Davao City mayor during the 2016 national polls.
In response, Duterte accepted the apology made by Katigbak over a controversial political advertisement in 2016.
Some lawmakers earlier allayed concerns over ABS-CBN’s looming shutdown, saying the media company could still broadcast news and content as there were pending renewal measures in Congress.
‘Provisional authority’
On Friday, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles said the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) might be inclined to grant ABS-CBN provisional authority to operate pending the congressional deliberation on its franchise renewal.
“The NTC will be more inclined to grant that provisional authority because it’s not an outright rejection from the House unless somebody questions it in the NTC,” Nograles also said in an interview with CNN Philippines
“Based on practice, the NTC previously in previous franchises, pag nag-expire ng franchise at hindi pa na-grant (when the franchise expired and it has not been granted yet) previously, the NTC gave provisional authority,” he added.
Nograles said House leaders have requested the NTC to allow ABS-CBN to operate even after its franchise expires in May.
The request was made until such time Congress has decided on the network’s application for franchise renewal.
The letter to NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba was signed by Speaker Alan Cayetano and House Committee on Legislative Franchises chairman Francis Alvarez.
‘Unbiased treatment’
On Saturday, Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd stood firm that the Senate would stick to legislative procedures laid down by the Constitution in the grant of franchises to public utilities, including ABS-CBN.
Sotto said senators would not be stampeded into resorting to shor-cuts in the performance of their duties.
“We follow specific procedures in granting franchises. We cannot do away with certain steps to fast-track the process, or else we can be unjustly accused of currying favors to specific parties,” he added in a statement.
“We will maintain an unbiased treatment to organizations asking for renewal of their franchise. We were elected to serve and protect the interest of our people, not the interest of a few, and we vow to always be faithful to our sworn oaths,” Sotto said.
The Senate Committee on Public Services headed by Sen.Mary Grace Poe earlier conducted an inquiry into the issues and alleged violations hounding ABS-CBN, a move that Cayetano had criticized.
Meanwhile, Agusan del Norte Rep. Lawrence Fortun said the ABS-CBN situation was not like the Associated Communications & Wireless Services (ACW) case cited by former chief justice Reynato Puno, who earlier said the network could not operate past the expiry of its franchise.
Fortun noted that ACW had no existing valid franchise at the time the NTC denied its application for provisional authority.
“Not only did it not have a subsisting valid franchise, it also did not have any pending application for a new, or renewal of, any subsisting valid franchise in Congress,” he said.
In the case of ACW, he added, there was no basis for the NTC to give it any provisional authority.
The lawmaker then urged House members to act on the bills before the franchise expires.
Twelve measures seeking to extend ABS-CBN’s legal mandate remain pending before the House committee on legislative franchises.
The panel has begun its proceedings on the case, but a formal hearing is yet to be calendared.
Cayetano earlier said the bills may only be tackled in May at the earliest, as more important measures are still on deck for lawmakers.
ABS-CBN secured a 25-year franchise under Republic Act 7966, which was enacted on March 30, 1995.
WITH REPORTS FROM JAVIER JOE ISMAEL AND FRANZ LEWIN EMBUDO