MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed the quo warranto petition filed by the Office of Solicitor General against the franchise of broadcast giant ABS-CBN.
The High Court junked the petition of Solicitor General Jose Calida in an en banc session on Tuesday since it is already useless with the franchise in question have already expired in May.
Calida previously requested the SC to revoke the network’s franchise for alleged violations of conditions set by Congress when it granted a 25-year authority for the Lopez-owned company to broadcast its content on television and radio.
Calida alleged ABS-CBN has allowed foreign investors to “take part in the ownership of a Philippine mass media entity” despite being prohibited by the Constitution, through the issuance of Philippine depositary receipts.
The Solicitor General also said the network launched the TV Plus subscription service and the KBO Channel without approval from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
The franchise already expired on May 4, which was also the basis of the National Telecommunication Commission’s shutdown order – an agency which Calida also handled as the government’s top counsel.
ABS-CBN has remained off the air from its usual channels for over a month now – with their request to stop the NTC’s cease and desist order only to be heard by the SC on July 13.
Meanwhile, measures granting a fresh franchise to the network are also pending before the House of Representatives./PN
