THE Justice department will issue a legal opinion to the telecom regulator next week on whether ABS-CBN Corp. can operate after its franchise expires at the end of March.
Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) had asked the Department of Justice (DoJ) to render an opinion.
“The main question is whether or not ABS-CBN may continue operating after the lapse of the franchise period, pending action by the Congress on the franchise renewal bills,” he said.
“We got (the request on) Tuesday afternoon and we hope to reply by next week,” he added.
Twelve bills are pending at the House of Representatives and one at the Senate regarding the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise.
ABS-CBN is also facing quo waranto proceeding before the Supreme Court as requested by the Office of the Solicitor-General (OSG). The OSG is seeking the revocation of the legislative franchises of ABS-CBN and its unit ABS-CBN Convergence, Inc.
The OSG alleges that the network violated the constitutional ban on foreign ownership in media companies when it issued Philippine Depositary Receipts to foreign investors, as well as operating the pay-per-view KBO Channel without NTC approval.
ABS-CBN was given 10 days to comment on the petition.
The OSG also filed a motion Tuesday for the issuance of a gag order against the parties, prohibiting them from making statements on the merits of a pending case.
It noted that the network produced propaganda in support of franchise renewal which could be viewed as an attempt to influence the court’s ruling.
The high court gave the network five days to comment on the motion. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
