By Vann Marlo M. Villegas, Reporter

ABS-CBN Corp. asked the Supreme Court to stop the implementation of the National Telecommunication Commission’s cease-and-desist order to halt its operations due to franchise expiration.

The network filed a petition for issuance of a temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction, two days after it went off air on May 5 following the order of the NTC (National Telecommunication Commission) due to the expiration of its franchise on May 4.

In a 46-page petition, ABS-CBN said the NTC committed grave abuse of discretion “amounting to lack of jurisdiction” when it issued the cease and desist order.

It said the telecommunications regulator should have deferred to the Congress, which approves franchise renewals, and allowed ABS-CBN to continue airing on radio and television.

There are 11 House Bills and two Senate Bills filed for the renewal of the company’s franchise.

“The NTC’s failure to consider all these factors amounts to a capricious and whimsical exercise of discretion in the issuance of the CDO,” ABS-SCBN said. “The NTC merely relied on the supposedly expired legislative franchise of ABS-CBN without regard to the attendant circumstances.”

The NTC in March said in a hearing that it would issue provisional authority to ABS-CBN, following the position of the Department of Justice that the Congress could authorize it to allow the operation of ABS-CBN while its franchise renewal is pending.

The House of Representatives sent a letter to the NTC and the Senate passed a resolution mandating the commission to issue provisional authority to ABS-CBN.

“The NTC’s bad faith, malice, and underhandedness are simply shocking and abhorrent,” the network said.

RIGHTS VIOLATED
ABS-CBN also said the cease-and-desist order violated its right to equal protection as it deviated from past practice.

It noted that it has been a “settled practice” of the NTC to allow broadcasting entities to continue operation pending the renewal or extension of the franchise.

ABS-CBN cited five instances where the NTC allowed broadcasting networks to go on air while their franchises expired and are awaiting their approval of the Congress.

“There is no reason why the same practice should not be applied to ABS-CBN,” it said.

“The fact that the OSG (Office of the Solicitor General) has filed a petition for quo warranto before this Honorable Court does not create any real difference or distinction which would justify a different treatment,” it said.

The company said the order against it is in the nature of preliminary injunction, and it should have been issued “upon notice and after hearing, and requisites for preliminary injunction must have been met,” violating its right to due process.

ABS-CBN also argued that there is no urgency for the issuance of the cease-and-desist order and the closure “will cause serious and irreparable damage” to public interest as well.

“ABS-CBN has more than 11,000 employees. The closure of ABS-CBN will jeopardize the livelihood not only of such employees, but also of their families,” it said.

The government will also be deprived of a “significant source of tax revenues” as from 2016 to 2019 the network paid tax of at least P14.3 billion.

The shutdown order also amounts to “limitation if not curtailment of the freedom of speech and of the press with prior restraint.”

ABS-CBN also filed an urgent motion for the raffling of its petition, as its operations is “a matter of public interest and transcendental importance” as one of the largest broadcasting networks in terms of coverage and audience.

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