‘SUB JUDICE:’ Calida refuses to attend Senate hearing on ABS-CBN franchise

Solicitor General Jose Calida refused to attend a Senate hearing on ABS-CBN's franchise as he maintained the issues involved should not be publicly discussed while a case is pending in court.

Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate's public services committee, invited Calida as a resource person during Monday's hearing, but the solicitor general declined, saying the subject matter was "sub judice."

He earlier filed a petition at the Supreme Court (SC) seeking the forfeiture of the network's license to operate due to alleged "highly abusive practices."

After ABS-CBN aired and published reports explaining the case, Calida also sought a gag order prohibiting the parties from publicly discussing the merits of the petition.

The SC has not ruled on his request. ABS-CBN has filed its comment.

"While the Supreme Court has yet to issue a formal gag order on the parties and their representatives, the pendency of said case, nevertheless, brings it under the sub judice rule..." Calida said in a letter to Poe.

He said the sub judice rule prohibits him, both as the petitioner and an officer of the court, "from sharing my views and commenting on the merits of said case to maintain 'the dignity and authority of the court' in the administration of impartial justice."

He furnished Poe's office copies of his petition and all related documents he has filed before the SC.

Poe led a hearing on whether ABS-CBN has complied with its franchise, which after 25 years is expiring on May 4. Congress has yet to act on bills seeking a  franchise renewal.

At the hearing, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Congress may authorize the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to provisionally allow ABS-CBN to continue operating in case its franchise expires before lawmakers could act on the pending bills.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Securities and Exchange Commission also said the broadcast network has committed no violation of the law.

In his petition, Calida alleged that ABS-CBN has been operating a pay-per-view channel without approval from the NTC and issued Philippine Depositary Receipts to foreigners.

ABS-CBN has filed its comment to his petition for quo warranto, the same legal tool he used to successfully move for the ouster of former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno in 2018. — RSJ, GMA News