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Supreme Court asked to stop NTC from granting ABS-CBN provisional permit


The lawyer known for moving to impeach a former chief justice on Thursday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the government from granting ABS-CBN a provisional authority to operate pending the renewal of its expiring franchise.

Larry Gadon urged the SC to issue a temporary restraining order preventing the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) from complying with the House franchise committee's order for the issuance of a provisional authority in favor of the network.

In a petition for prohibition, Gadon also asked the court to order House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and franchise committee chair Franz Alvarez to recall their letter to the NTC that contains this instruction, and to cease and desist from "pursuing the matters indicated" in the letter. 

Gadon, who ran and lost in the 2019 Senate race, said he was filing the petition as a "concerned Filipino citizen and taxpayer." He admitted he was not directly affected by the issue but claimed his legal standing as a citizen should be recognized as the matter was of "transcendental public importance."

Gadon was recently suspended by the SC for three months over his "arrogant, malicious, and insulting" language against a fellow lawyer and his client in 2009. He was also among those who filed impeachment complaints against then-chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno in 2017.

Issued February 26, the House letter he is questioning directed the NTC to grant ABS-CBN and its similarly situated subsidiaries and/or affiliates a provisional authority to operate effective May 4 until the House of Representatives has made a decision on their franchise renewal applications.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said at the time that the letter was "enough," but added that "a similar resolution from the Senate will provide a tougher armor to the NTC in the event of a legal challenge."

On Wednesday, the Senate adopted a resolution seeking to allow ABS-CBN and its subsidiaries to continue operations using a provisional authority from the NTC.

The SC has another ABS-CBN-related case on its plate: a quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida that seeks the forfeiture of the broadcast network's franchise over allegations of "highly abusive practices."

'Defects and absurdities'

Gadon claimed he is not against the grant of a franchise to ABS-CBN “if that is the will of Congress.”

In his petition, the lawyer argued that the NTC granting ABS-CBN a provisional authority to operate effective May 4 is "tantamount to extending the franchise of ABS-CBN, through an undue delegation of powers."

He claimed that Cayetano and Alvarez exceeded their authorities by issuing the letter-order to the NTC. He said there is no evidence that the two officials were authorized by Congress to do so.

He argued that their actions were "tainted with defects and absurdities - ranging from ignorance of the law, usurpation of powers, grave abuse of discretion, to violation of the constitutionally enshrined separation of powers of the government."

Citing a 2003 SC ruling, the lawyer said the NTC has no authority to issue permits to networks without an existing franchise. Former chief justice Reynato Puno has also cited this decision in interviews regarding the ABS-CBN franchise issue.

"Without a valid legislative franchise, the NTC cannot regulate the franchisee, in this case ABS-CBN," Gadon said in the petition.

"NTC cannot usurp the power of Congress to grant or extend ABS-CBN’s legislative franchise. It is only Congress, which can extend ABS-CBN’s franchise. This power cannot be passed on or delegated to an administrative agency, such as NTC, under the Executive branch," he added.

Gadon added that Cayetano and Alvarez could have conducted the proper proceedings in Congress if they wanted to extend or renew the broadcast network's franchise.

Cayetano has announced that the House Committee on Legislative Franchises will hold its first hearing on the bills seeking the renewal of ABS-CBN's franchise on March 10. —LDF, GMA News

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