BREAKING: NTC orders ABS-CBN to stop broadcast operations

MANILA, Philippines – The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a cease and desist order against ABS-CBN on Tuesday after its legislative franchise expired on May 4.

In an order dated May 5, the NTC ordered ABS-CBN to stop operating its radio and television broadcast stations across the country “in the absence of a valid franchise from Congress required by law.”

NTC cited Republic Law No. 3846 or the Radio Control Law that states that “no person, company, company, association or corporation shall build, install, establish or operate a radio transmission station or radio reception station. used for commercial purposes, or a broadcasting station, without having previously obtained a franchise from the Philippine Congress. “

Thus, with the expiration of the Law of the Republic. No. 7966, which gave ABS-CBN a 25-year franchise to operate its radio and television stations, NTC said that ABS-CBN “no longer has a valid and subsisting franchise of Congress as required by Law No. 3846.

“The NTC Regional Offices will implement the closure order in their respective areas of jurisdiction,” NTC said in a statement.

The order also gives ABS-CBN days after receipt of the order to respond as to why the frequencies assigned to the network should not be withdrawn.

“After receiving ABS-CBN’s response, the NTC will schedule the case for the hearing shortly after the government lifts the Enhanced Community Quarantine,” said NTC.

What happened?

The 11 bills seeking the renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise are still pending before the House committee on legislative franchises, the first of which, at least at the 18th Congress, was introduced in July 2019.

While the bills were pending in the lower house, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alan Peter Cayetano, on numerous occasions assured that ABS-CBN will not close its operations even if its franchises expire.

On May 4, the same day that Congress resumed its sessions since its Lenten break, the ABS-CBN franchise expired.

By ensuring that ABS-CBN will continue to operate as Congress addresses bills seeking renewal, House of Representatives leaders turned to the NTC, which gives the network provisional authority to operate.

Thus, in February, Cayetano and the representative of Palawan, Franz Álvarez, president of the franchise committee, sent a letter to the NTC requesting the commission to grant provisional authority to operate ABS-CBN as of May 4, 2020, “until such time as the House of Representatives / Congress has made a decision on its application.”

On March 10, NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Córdoba told House members that they will follow the advice of the Department of Justice (DOJ), allowing ABS-CBN to operate while its franchise renewal offer is pending in Congress.

The Attorney General’s Opposition

On May 3, Attorney General José Cálida, who previously filed a quo warrant petition against ABS-CBN in a move to revoke the network franchise, warned the NTC not to grant provisional authority to ABS-CBN.

According to Calida, NTC was unable to grant provisional authorities to ABS-CBN Corporation and its subsidiary, ABS-CBN Convergence, Inc. because it must first obtain a franchise from Congress.

Calida said NTC commissioners could risk prosecution under the country’s anti-theft and corruption laws if they issued the “illegal” provisional authorities to ABS-CBN without having a franchise.

In response to Calida’s efforts to “put pressure” on the NTC, Alvarez said that the “Legislative Franchise Committee will not be dictated by any individual or agency as to the form, schedule, and conduct of its official business.”

Álvarez also issued a warning to the NTC: “If the NTC decides to succumb to pressure from the Attorney General, and disregards the commitments they made under oath, we reserve the right to call them before Congress and explain why they should not be detained. in contempt. “

Ironically, Álvarez released the statement just hours before news emerged about the cease and desist order against ABS-CBN.

So far, the legislative franchise committee has only held one hearing, or meeting, to discuss the matter. But during this meeting, no one from ABS-CBN or the opposition was invited.

Instead, lawmakers first decided to draft the ground rules for the formal deliberations of ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal offer, which Cayetano previously deemed necessary so that the hearings were not a “circus.”

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