DOJ ‘guidance’: Congress may authorize NTC to grant broadcast firms provisional authority to operate

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has officially told the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) that Congress may authorize it to provisionally allow broadcast companies to operate until their applications for franchise renewal are decided.

Sent to the NTC on Wednesday, Guevarra's letter formalizes his suggestion last Monday that a concurrent resolution by Congress would provide legal basis to the"established practice" of allowing organizations with pending franchise renewal bills to continue operating past the expiration of their existing license.

The letter is not a formal legal opinion but a number of "observations" that Guevarra made for the commission's "guidance."

He declined NTC's request for a legal opinion on the ABS-CBN case as a private entity is involved and would not be bound by his advice.

'Gap in the law'

The NTC had come to the Department of Justice to ask whether ABS-CBN may continue to operate until the end of the 18th Congress, where its franchise renewal bill is pending.

Guevarra pointed out a "gap in the law," saying existing laws on franchises do not provide for the status of a radio or television franchisee when Congress has not acted on a pending bill for renewal.

He said this is where equity comes in.

He also noted that companies like PLDT, Smart Communications, Inc. and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Inc. have benefited from the practice of allowing companies to operate with expired franchises as long as renewal applications were filed before they lapsed.

Guevarra said "it is imperative that the same treatment be extended to all entities seeking the renewal of their franchises which are about to expire."

"Otherwise, it runs afoul of the basic principles of fairness and justice. It likewise undermines the trust and the reasonable expectation of the citizens that the state shall govern impartially and will not draw distinctions that are irrelevant to a legitimate objective," he said.

Concurrent resolution

Reiterating his earlier statement at the Senate, Guevarra said Congress has the "implied power" to authorize ABS-CBN to continue its operations pending final action on its application for renewal.

He said the NTC could issue a provisional authority to operate to an applicant who had previously been granted a franchise until Congress could decide whether or not to renew.

ABS-CBN's existing franchise expires on May 4, Guevarra said.

"Based on the foregoing discussion, there is sufficient equitable basis to allow broadcast entities to continue operating while the bills for the renewal of their respective franchise remain pending with Congress," he told the NTC.

"However, a more stable legal environment could be created if Congress, by a concurrent resolution, would authorize the NTC to issue a provisional authority to these broadcasting companies, under such terms and conditions as it may deem necessary, until Congress' final disposition of their franchise renewal bills."

The House Committee on Legislative Franchises on Wednesday formally requested the NTC to grant ABS-CBN a provisional authority to operate starting May 4 and until the House of Representatives decides on its franchise renewal application.

Guevarra said this authorization was "enough." "But a similar resolution from the Senate will provide a tougher armor to the NTC in the event of a legal challenge," he added. — RSJ, GMA News