ABS-CBN asks Supreme Court to stop, junk NTC’s shutdown order

ABS-CBN has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to stop and then nullify the cease and desist order that forced the media giant to go off the air for the first time since the Martial Law era.

In a petition for certiorari and prohibition, ABS-CBN asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order against the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) directive that led to a signoff Tuesday evening, the day after the company's franchise expired.

The petition asks the highest Philippine court to nullify and set aside the cease and desist order, arguing that the NTC acted with grave abuse of discretion and violated ABS-CBN's rights to equal protection of the law and to due process, as well as the public's right to information.

"Our main argument is premised on due process and equal protection and the patent illegality of the cease and desist order," Michelle Go, a lawyer for ABS-CBN, told GMA News.

"It was issued without due process and in violation of past NTC practice na hindi naman isinasara ang mga broadcasting stations while their franchise applications are pending before Congress."

The NTC on Tuesday ordered ABS-CBN to cease the operations of several of its radio and television stations purportedly because of the company's lack of a valid franchise from Congress. Its franchise renewal bills have been pending for years.

The commission ordered the shutdown despite saying last March that it will follow the advice of the Department of Justice, which said, and has maintained, that there is sufficient basis to allow broadcast entities to operate pending congressional action on their application for renewal.

"We're also saying that Congress has already expressed its desire na bigyan sila ng panahon para madinig at makapag-deliberate on the franchise bills and we think that they should be given the chance to do so since the power to grant a franchise is exclusively lodged with Congress," Go added.

In its 46-page petition, ABS-CBN argued that Congress, which has the power to grant franchises, also has the authority to determine the company's rights and obligations until it has decided whether or not to renew the network's franchise.

ABS-CBN cited the House franchise committee's letter enjoining the NTC to give the company a provisional authority to operate beyond the expiration of its franchise on May 4, as well as the Senate resolution in which the chamber "expressed its sense" that ABS-CBN should be allowed to operate.

"Instead of issuing a CDO, the NTC should have deferred to Congress and allowed ABS-CBN to continue operating its television and radio stations," the company said.

ABS-CBN further claimed that the cease and desist order "deviated" from the NTC's "past practice" of allowing entities to operate despite the expiry of their franchise. "There is no reason why the same practice should not be applied to ABS-CBN," it said.

It also argued that the order was issued without notice and hearing, to the detriment of the company's more than 11,000 employees.

"The CDO also violates the right of the public to information and is necessarily a curtailment of the freedom of speech and of the press. Strong public interest and equity demand that ABS-CBN be allowed to continue its operation," ABS-CBN said.

The NTC issued the order two days after Solicitor General Jose Calida warned its commissioners that they could face graft charges should they provisionally allow ABS-CBN to continue operating.

The Office of the Solicitor General is the statutory counsel of government agencies.

An NTC official later denied that Calida's warning had anything to do with the commission's decision to issue the CDO.

Malacañang has defended both Calida and the NTC. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Calida did not influence the commission, and that NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba could not be dictated upon.

ABS-CBN pointed out Calida's "threat" in questioning the NTC's impartiality.

"The NTC thus issued the CDO with a threat hanging over its head, made no less by the government's own lawyer, of prosecution for graft/corruption. Under such climate, the NTC's impartiality is at best seriously suspect," the company said.

Earlier this year, Calida filed a quo warranto case against the network—a petition to forfeit its franchise, which remains pending before the SC. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he believes the case may now be moot because the franchise in question has expired.

ABS-CBN also said in its petition that the quo warranto case is now moot and academic.

Calida has hailed the NTC order as a "triumph of the rule of law." He said the commission should not be blamed, instead asking why ABS-CBN's franchise renewal bills have languished in Congress. — BM, GMA News

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