Former CJ Puno says Congress has power to grant provisional authority to ABS-CBN

The House of Representatives and Senate have the power to grant ABS-CBN Corporation a provisional authority to operate, according to former Chief Justice Reynato Puno on Tuesday.

Legislation is the essence of the power vested upon Congress and crafting a law to grant a provisional franchise to the media company could be accepted, he said during the Senate committee of public services hearing.

"Indeed the Senate has this power together with the House of Representatives to grant this provisional authority," Puno said.

The former chief justice manifested the said opinion after former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile said in the same hearing that he has his "own doubts" if Congress can grant a provisional franchise.

"There must be a certain degree of permanence of any legislative... it cannot be ad hoc. Congress must enact a law and that law must be complete in every respect," Enrile said.

"If the Congress can grant the temporary franchise, what is the compelling reason for Congress not to grant a permanent franchise with a reasonable period of 25 years?" he added.

Enrile also suggested that instead of approving a provisional franchise, the Congress may also consider amending the mandate of the National Telecommunications Commission and delegate to it the power to issue a provisional permit.

On Monday, the House returned to the plenary the measure granting ABS-CBN a provisional franchise until October 31, 2020 to accommodate additional interpellations and amendments from lawmakers.

House Bill 6732 previously hurdled the first and second reading on the same day last week and was initially projected to pass the third reading on May 18.

ABS-CBN Corporation President and CEO Carlo Katigbak said the media network is amenable to the proposed provisional franchise valid until end-October if it is the fastest way to return on air, for the sake of their employees who may face retrenchment come August due to financial constraints of the company.—AOL, GMA News