Network can operate even with expired franchise – DoJ

ABS-CBN Corp. can operate even if its franchise has expired, according to Department of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.

In a guidance letter to National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba, Guevarra said there were cases in the past when an entity continued to operate despite the expiration of its congressional franchise.

Guevarra made it clear, however, that while the power to grant franchises rests on Congress, the media giant was still subject to the regulation of administrative agencies such as the NTC.

Since ABS-CBN was granted a previous franchise by Congress, it could be considered a qualified applicant and could be given provisional authority to operate pending the renewal of its application, he said.

The issue of whether the network has to shut down after its franchise ends in May is being hotly debated in the Senate and House of Representatives.

It began after Solicitor General Jose Calida petitioned the Supreme Court to revoke ABS-CBN’s franchise because of violations of ownership provisos.

But Guevarra said “there is sufficient equitable basis to allow broadcast entities to continue operating while the bills for the renewal of their respective franchises remain pending with Congress.”

He added, however, that “a more stable legal environment” could be created if Congress issues a concurrent resolution authorizing the NTC to issue a provisional authority to ABS-CBN and its affiliate companies until Congress tackles the pending bills on the franchise’s renewal.

In its consolidated reply to the Supreme Court on the quo warranto petition, Calida refuted ABS-CBN’s claim that the government was muzzling press freedom by calling for the revocation of its franchise.

He also defended the petition for a gag order on ABS-CBN, saying it did not constitute “a restraint on freedom of expression.”

Calida said the network must remember that while the freedoms of the press and expression are guaranteed by the Constitution, they were not an absolute right.

“The exercise of such right is not absolute for it may be so regulated that it shall not be injurious to the equal enjoyment of others having equal rights, not injurious to the right of the community or society,” he added.

The Constitution itself “also imposes certain limits on the freedom of speech and of the press. One of such limitation is found in Article XVI of the Constitution, which prohibits foreign media ownership,” the solicitor general said.

“The revocation of respondent ABS-CBN’s franchise does not constitute a restraint on freedom of expression or of the press because the primordial effect of such revocation is the upholding of the constitutional provision and laws governing media companies like respondent ABS-CBN,” he added.

He also denied that the gag order impairs the right to information.

“The respondents’ contention is overly sweeping, if not an altogether exaggeration. The Republic’s motion for issuance of a gag order does not seek to prohibit the dissemination of information to the public. It only seeks to restrict comments and disclosures pertaining to the pending judicial proceedings to avoid prejudging the issue, influencing the court or obstructing the administration of justice,” he said.

Calida appealed to the court to begin oral arguments to tackle the merits of the case.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/02/28/news/national/network-can-operate-even-with-expired-franchise-doj/697614/