Palace on NTC order: ABS-CBN free to exhaust all legal remedies available

MANILA, Philippines — Media giant ABS-CBN is free to exhaust all legal remedies available as the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered the halt of its operations, Malacañang said Tuesday.

“The Palace notes that the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has issued a Cease and Desist Order against ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation for lack of a valid legislative franchise. ABS-CBN is free to exhaust all legal remedies available to it,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

President Rodrigo Duterte has accepted the network’s prior apology, Roque noted as he stressed that its franchise is within the hands of Congress.

“President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, as a matter of record, accepted the apology of the network and left its fate to both houses of Congress. Let the public be informed that broadcast franchises are within the authority of Congress,” Roque said.

“It has discretion on what to do with the legislative franchise of ABS-CBN and other broadcasting companies similarly situated,” he added.

Further, Roque thanked the network for its service to the public especially in the time of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

“We thank the network for its services to the Filipino nation and people especially in this time of COVID-19. But in the absence of a legislative franchise, as we have earlier said, ABS-CBN’s continued operation is entirely with the NTC’s decision,” Roque said.

NTC, in an order dated May 5, ordered ABS-CBN to stop operating its television and radio broadcasting stations nationwide due to absence of a “a valid Congressional Franchise required by law.”

ABS-CBN said it will go off the air starting Tuesday night.

Duterte had repeatedly vowed to block the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise, citing the network’s failure to air his ads during his campaign for the presidency in 2016.

ABS-CBN, during a Senate hearing in February 2020, apologized to the President and explained that the time limits under the election law prohibited the airing of some of his ads.

The network also offered to return the President’s money, but Duterte said they should just donate it to a charitable institution.

The President accepted the media giant’s apology and said he will leave the media network giant’s impending franchise renewal to Congress.

ABS-CBN’s franchise expired on Monday with its application for renewal still pending on the House legislative franchises committee.