ABS-CBN petition vs. NTC to be raffled to SC justice on Monday

ABS-CBN's petition challenging the National Telecommunications Commission's (NTC) order that forced the company to go off the air earlier this week will be raffled to a Supreme Court (SC) justice on Monday.

The SC did not take up the case in its en banc session on Friday, according to a source.

"The Petition will be raffled to a Member-in-Charge on Monday, 11 May 2020, who will then make a recommendation for the consideration of the Court En Banc," the SC Public Information Office (PIO) said in a statement on Friday.

The SC PIO said the court received ABS-CBN's petition for certiorari and prohibition at 3:16 p.m. Thursday.

Cases are assigned to a member-in-charge through raffle. The justice to whom a case is raffled will oversee its progress and disposition, unless it has to be re-raffled, unloaded, or assigned to another member due to a valid reason like inhibition, according to the SC's internal rules.

The day after being told to stop operating its radio and television stations, ABS-CBN asked the highest Philippine court to nullify and set aside the NTC's cease and desist order. The media giant also asked for a temporary restraining order against the NTC directive.

In its petition, ABS-CBN said the NTC acted with grave abuse of discretion and violated its rights to equal protection of the law and due process, as well as the public's right to information, by issuing the cease and desist order.

The NTC issued the cease and desist order purportedly due to ABS-CBN's lack of a valid franchise from Congress. The network's franchise expired on May 4. The bills for its renewal have been pending before the House of Representatives for years.

The company claimed that the NTC should have deferred to Congress, whose chambers have both expressed that ABS-CBN should be allowed to continue operating. It also said the order was issued without notice and hearing.

ABS-CBN further argued that the NTC order "deviated" from the commission's past practice of allowing entities to continue operating despite the expiration of their franchise.

The NTC issued the order around two months after its commissioner said they will follow the advice of the Department of Justice, which said and has maintained that there is sufficient basis to let broadcast entities continue operations pending congressional action on their application for franchise renewal.

On the eve of the expiration of ABS-CBN's franchise, Solicitor General Jose Calida warned NTC officials that they could face graft charges should they issue the company a provisional authority to operate.

Calida said it was his office's duty "to advise the NTC of what is legal or not." The Office of the Solicitor General is the statutory counsel of government agencies.

NTC Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios, for his part, said the commission's decision has "nothing to do" with Calida's warning. —LDF, GMA News