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ABS-CBN, the Philippines’ largest television network, was ordered to cease operations after President Rodrigo Duterte’s allies in Congress refused to renew the station’s 25-year license.
In an order issued Tuesday, the government agency in charge of granting broadcast licenses said that “in the absence of a valid franchise from Congress, as required by law,” the network should stop its various radio and television operations.
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said the ABS-CBN license expired on May 4 and gave it The station 10 days to respond.
In an interview with ABS-CBN radio station DZMM, NTC Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said the order is “immediately enforceable,” and Justice Department secretary Menardo Guevarra affirmed legal opinion.
In a statement, which was first read on-air via DZMM, ABS-CBN management said it will comply with the order and halt the operation late Tuesday.
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After ABS-CBN submits its response within the next 10 days, a hearing will be scheduled as soon as the emergency coronavirus blockade is lifted in Metro Manila and other areas of the country.
On Sunday, Duterte’s attorney general, José Cálida, issued a statement warning the NTC of prosecution if it did not comply with the closure order.
Calida, the government’s top lawyer, said there was no legal basis to grant the company a provisional license, as it awaited approval from Congress, which resumed its session Monday after a recess.
Blatant repression of press freedom
In a speech in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Congresswoman Arlene Brosa denounced the order as a “blatant repression of press freedom.”
Danilo Arao, a journalism professor at the University of the Philippines, said the NTC’s decision reflects the limits of its independence as a government agency under the president’s office.
We call on the community of independent Filipino journalists and all Filipinos who appreciate democracy and freedom to unite and resist this government’s blatant assault on freedom of the press and expression.
– NUJP (@nujp) May 5, 2020
“This closing order is clearly an attack on press freedom and we must confront it head-on. The administration should be exposed as the true enemy of press freedom,” he told Al Jazeera.
With the closure, an estimated 11,000 company employees are at risk of losing their jobs.
Two ABS-CBN employees, who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, said they were crying when the station closed the session after the evening news.
Since assuming the presidency in June 2016, Duterte has repeatedly expressed disdain for the television network, which is owned by one of the wealthiest families in the Philippines.
Duterte claimed that ABS-CBN refused to publish his political ads during the campaign season, allegations denied by the network.
ABS-CBN’s coverage of Duterte’s so-called drug war, which has killed thousands of people, also angered the Philippine president.
On many occasions, Duterte has threatened to block the renewal of the network franchise, while suggesting that the owners sell the company to break the impasse. At the same time, he insisted that his hand-picked leaders in Congress were free to decide on the issue.
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Calida, the attorney general, maintained that the NTC has no power to issue any such license to ABS-CBN, citing provisions of the Philippine Constitution that, he said, gave Congress “exclusive powers.”
“Although this legislative power can be delegated to administrative agencies through a law, currently, there is no such law that gives the NTC or any other agency the power to grant franchises to transmission entities.”
A 2003 Philippine Supreme Court decision also ruled that the NTC could not issue a provisional permit without the backing of the legislature.
In a statement Tuesday, the Philippine National Union of Journalists denounced the “cowardly movement “of the Duterte Administration.
“All this comes from the personal revenge of President Rodrigo Duterte against the network, whose franchise renewal he promised to block.
“Send a clear message: what Duterte wants, Duterte receives. And it is clear, with this blatant move to shut down ABS-CBN, that he intends to silence critical media and intimidate everyone else to submit.” .
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