Guevarra: ABS-CBN franchise to expire in May

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday said ABS-CBN's franchise will expire in May, not March, this year.

At a Senate hearing on the network's franchise, Guevarra said Republic Act No. 7966, the law that granted the company license to operate for 25 years, became effective 15 days from the date of its publication in 1995.

Though the law was enacted on March 30, 1995, the franchise was only published on April 19, 1995, the Justice chief said.

"For that reason, the franchise will expire on May 4, 2020," Guevarra said.

Section 15 of RA 7966 says: "This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from the date of its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines."

Congress has not yet acted on bills seeking the network's franchise renewal even as the expiry of its existing license looms.

The broadcast network is facing a quo warranto petition at the Supreme Court (SC) over what government lawyers claimed were its "highly abusive practices" that allegedly violated its legislative franchise.

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) alleged that ABS-CBN is operating a pay-per-view channel on free-to-air signals without approval from the National Telecommunications Commission and issued Philippine Depositary Receipts to foreigners.

ABS-CBN said it did not violate the law. It filed its official comment to the SC case on Monday.

One of the country's leading media companies, ABS-CBN employs around 11,000 workers. — RSJ, GMA News