NTC to issue provisional authority to ABS-CBN

MANILA, Philippines — Broadcast giant ABS-CBN may temporarily heave a sigh of relief after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said yesterday it would allow the network to continue operating after its franchise expires in May.

Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba revealed during the first House legislative franchises committee hearing on the network’s franchise renewal that the NTC would not shut down ABS-CBN while its renewal application remains pending with Congress.

Cordoba said the NTC would heed the Department of Justice (DOJ) advice that stated the commission may issue a provisional authority (PA) allowing the network to continue operating with expired license “upon expressed authorization from the House.”

“May I assure this committee that barring a gross violation of its franchise of the NTC rules and regulations, NTC will follow the latest advice of the DOJ and let ABS-CBN continue operations based on equity,” Cordoba told lawmakers.

In the opinion, the DOJ said “there’s sufficient equitable basis to allow broadcast entities to continue operating pending congressional decision on franchise applications” and explained that the PA could be “legally stronger” if supported by a concurrent resolution by both House and Senate. 

The decision of the NTC also came in response to the letter signed by Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and committee on legislative franchises chair Rep. Franz Alvarez, wherein the House directed the agency to issue the PA to the network to operate “from May 4, 2020 until such time that the Congress has made a decision on its application.”

Cayetano and Alvarez explained that the House, which has the exclusive original jurisdiction and authority to act on franchise applications, would not be able to resolve ABS-CBN’s franchise bills before the expiration of the 25-year franchise on May 4 as Congress is set to go on a seven-week Lenten break.

The panel gave parties and stakeholders until April 15 to submit their position papers. So far, the committee received position papers of seven organizations, a regulatory agency, a local government unit and two private individuals. 

Panel members also voted to approve a resolution adopting the letter as official position of the House on the issue that was already raised before the Supreme Court through a petition for prohibition filed by lawyer Larry Gadon.

“We also want to restate our letter to the NTC that while deliberation of the franchise renewal bill is pending at the Congress, ABS-CBN be allowed to continue their operations,” Alvarez said.

The NTC did not comment on the matter, citing the sub judice rule, which prohibits parties in a case to publicly discuss merits of the case.

But at a press conference after the hearing, Cayetano said he does not agree with the position of Gadon that the SC has the power to stop the order of Congress for the NTC to issue the PA, noting that the court also values the House’s “constitutional mandate and duties to grant franchises.”

Quo warranto hearing

The high court will discuss the quo warranto petition filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) against the network during its summer session next month in Baguio City.

“Yes, I confirm that the deliberations by the Court on the ABS-CBN quo warranto petition are still ongoing. The case will again be included in the agenda of the court on April 14, 2020 when it starts its summer session in Baguio. The justices need more time to further study the case,” said SC spokesman Brian Hosaka. 

The OSG filed the quo warranto petition last Feb. 10, asking for the cancellation of the ABS-CBN franchise because of “highly abusive practices.”

But in a 58-page Comment Ad Cautelam, ABS-CBN Corp. and ABS-CBN Convergence Inc. denied the OSG’s allegations and asked the SC to deny the petition, citing both jurisdictional and procedure grounds as basis.

Meanwhile, the TV giant, in line with the government’s declaration of a state of public health emergency, has stopped admitting live studio audience starting yesterday.

The affected TV programs, it said, include It’s Showtime, Magandang Buhay, Banana Sundae, I Can See Your Voice, ASAP Natin ’To and iWant ASAP.?“The safety and well-being of our studio audience, artists, crew and production team are of utmost importance to us and we are taking this option for their protection,” ABS-CBN said.?”We feel that it is our shared responsibility to help in preventing the spread of the COVID-19.”

Last Monday, noontime show Eat Bulaga!, aired over GMA Network, decided to temporarily suspend the admission of live studio audiences in view of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. – With Evelyn Macairan, Richmond Mercurio