SolGen insists ‘no franchise, no frequency’ policy vs multimedia firm

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) urged the Court of Appeals (CA) to reconsider its August 2022 ruling that nullified the provisional authority and cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) against News and Entertainment Network Corp. (Newsnet).

In an urgent manifestation, the government lawyers urged the CA’s special 11th division composed of Associate Justices Myra V. Garcia Fernandez, Tita Marilyn B. Payoyo-Villordon and Emily R. Alino-Geluz to take a cue from the Office of the President (OP) in deciding the case.

The OSG said the OP, through Executive Secretary and former Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin, ruled that “the expiration of Newsnet’s legislative franchise effectively disqualified it from commercially operating radio transmitters to deliver an interactive pay television and multimedia services and being allocated with any radio frequency.”

“In other words, the Office of the President effectively ruled that a legislative franchise is necessary – nay, a pre-requisite – to the commercial operation of radio transmitters and receivers, including LMDS, to deliver interactive pay television and multimedia services. Without a legislative franchise, the petitioner (Newsnet) cannot be assigned a radio frequency,” the OSG lawyers pointed out.

The OSG also filed a similar motion before the CA’s 8th Division that issued the July 2022 ruling directing the National Telecommunications Commission to automatically approve Newsnet’s application to operate a local multi-point distribution system (LMDS).

Through LMDS, Newsnet can deliver interactive pay television and multimedia services in the country.

But government lawyers maintained that there should be no frequency without a franchise.

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