MANILA –Malacañang said it will be up to the Supreme Court (SC) to decide on whether or not a people’s initiative can be used to grant ABS-CBN Corporation a new legislative franchise.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque made the statement after several groups suggested over the weekend that a people’s initiative is needed to revive the company’s franchise bill.
Republic Act 6735 or the Initiative and Referendum Act provides a system where the public can directly propose and enact laws or approve or reject any act or law or part thereof as passed by Congress.
“Whether the franchise of ABS-CBN may be granted through a people’s initiative despite the clear wording of R.A. 7925, whether it matters that a franchise bill is a private bill that must originate exclusively in the House of Representatives,” Roque said.
“These and related questions we leave to the Supreme Court, as the final arbiter of the appropriate interpretation of these provisions in the Constitution and our laws,” he added. “We will defer to the Court if ever it rules on this issue in the future.”
The country’s telecoms regulator shut down ABS-CBN’s free TV and radio operations on May 5 after its franchise was left to expire on May 4 despite a long-pending renewal application at the Lower House. In a historic vote of 70-11, the Committee on Legislative Franchises on July 10 junked ABS-CBN’s application because the “applicant was seen as undeserving of the grant of a legislative franchise.”/P