THE franchise of ABS-CBN Convergence, Inc. expired on March 17, 2020 while it was awaiting the provisional authority from a government agency that will allow the Lopez-led company to operate, its parent firm said on Wednesday.

“In the meantime, Convergence has suspended operations which require a legislative franchise or provisional authority,” ABS-CBN Corp. said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

The media network said ABS-CBN Convergence was looking forward to receiving the provisional authority from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) “that will allow it to continue to provide service to all Filipinos.”

It said the NTC previously declared that it would issue a provisional authority, consistent with Senate Resolution No. 40 adopted on March 4, 2020, and a letter to the NTC dated Feb. 26, 2020 from Chairperson Franz E. Alvarez of the House Committee on Legislative Franchises, which was adopted by the committee in a meeting on March 10, 2020.

ABS-CBN said the provisional authority is also consistent with the letter to the NTC dated Feb. 26, 2020 from the Secretary of Justice, statements of the NTC commissioner during the House committee meeting on March 10, 2020, and the statement of Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios on March 11, 2020 to ABS-CBN Convergence, among other companies.

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