MANILA – ABS-CBN Corp. has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to stop and then nullify the cease and desist order that forced the media giant to go off the air for the first time since the Martial Law era.
In a petition for certiorari and prohibition, ABS-CBN asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order against the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) directive that led to a signoff Tuesday evening, the day after the company’s franchise expired.
The petition asks the highest Philippine court to nullify and set aside the cease and desist order, arguing that the NTC acted with grave abuse of discretion and violated ABS-CBN’s rights to equal protection of the law and to due process, as well as the public’s right to information.
“Our main argument is premised on due process and equal protection and the patent illegality of the cease and desist order,” Michelle Go, a lawyer for ABS-CBN, told GMA News.
The NTC on Tuesday ordered ABS-CBN to cease the operations of several of its radio and television stations purportedly because of the company’s lack of a valid franchise from Congress. Its franchise renewal bills have been pending for years. (GMA News)
