NUJP slams OSG attempt ‘to silence all voices’ vs effort to shutdown ABS-CBN
MANILA, Philippines — The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) on Tuesday condemned the government’s move to “suppress the truth and silence critical voices” as the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed with the Supreme Court (SC) a motion to stop ABS-CBN and other parties from talking about the quo warranto petition.
“The [motion] filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida is an obvious attempt to silence all voices opposed to this government’s push to shut down ABS-CBN,” NUJP said in a statement.
“With the clearly broad opposition to the shutdown and a Senate hearing on the issue coming up, we are calling [Solicitor General Jose] Calida’s intention for what it is, the suppression of truth and the silencing of critical voices,” it added.
NUJP also said: “Does he also seek to silence lawmakers who have criticized his quo warranto petition as an encroachment into Congress’ authority to grant franchises in violation of the principle of co-equal and independent branches of government?”
ABS-CBN has been facing hurdles in the renewal of its legislative franchise, which is set to expire on March 30.
First, the House of Representatives is yet to tackle the 11 bills calling for the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise. And as the public awaits the action of lawmakers at the lower chamber, Calida personally went to the high court on February 10 and filed the quo warranto petition that seeks to invalidate the franchise of the media network giant.
