NTC Reply To House Committee On Legislative Franchises' Show Cause Order
NTC Reply To House Committee On Legislative Franchises' Show Cause Order
NTC Reply To House Committee On Legislative Franchises' Show Cause Order
We understand why the CDO took Congress by surprise, given the earlier information
provided by NTC that it would issue a Provisional Authority (“PA”) for ABS-CBN to
operate while the application for the renewal of its franchise was being heard in
Congress. The representation was made upon the good faith belief that the issuance of
the PA by the NTC provided the best possible solution at that time. Moreover, it was
consistent with the legal advice of the Department of Justice, as well as Senate
Resolution No. 40 based on equitable considerations. NTC could have thus exercised
more openness and prudence under the circumstances and, at the very least, alerted
Congress of NTC’s inability based on legal grounds to issue the PA as well as its
subsequent decision to issue a CDO when the franchise of ABS-CBN expired.
1 The Order directed the undersigned to submit an explanation within seventy-two (72) hours from receipt of the Order why they
should not be cited in contempt or proceeded against for issuing a Cease and Desist Order [“CDO”] against ABS-CBN Corporation
[“ABS-CBN”] to immediately cease and desist from operating its radio and television stations. The Order noted that the NTC
issued the CDO “after having assured the House of Representatives, during the hearing of the [Honorable Committee] on 10 March
2020, that the NTC will let the ABS-CBN Corporation continue its operations until Congress has disposed of the franchise renewal
bills” and considered the issuance "undue interference on, and disobedience to the exercise of the power of the House of
Representatives, and therefore, an affront to its dignity and an inexcusable disrespect of its authority.”
Through the past months, the NTC has rigorously sifted through various (and often
opposing) legal arguments, opinions of legal luminaries (including retired justices of
the Supreme Court), stakeholders, and concerns of other sectors, on how to legally
support the issuance of a PA.2
The NTC also considered the Comment submitted by the Office of the Solicitor General
(“OSG”) in a petition pending before the Supreme Court as the “statutory counsel” of
the NTC3, as well as the letter dated 30 April 2020 that it sent the NTC, both vigorously
asserting that the positions taken by the DOJ, the Senate, and the Congress supporting
the issuance of a PA were contrary to the Constitution, the law, and jurisprudence which
vested upon Congress the sole power to grant or renew a franchise. Correspondingly,
the OSG cautioned the NTC that its issuance of the PA would make its members liable
for criminal prosecution.
In the end, NTC’s collective assessment was that the Constitution, the laws,4 and
jurisprudence,5 provided insurmountable obstacles to the issuance of a PA,
notwithstanding equitable considerations. If the NTC were to issue a PA, it would have
amounted to an encroachment into the exclusive domain of Congress. We understand
that the licensing power of the NTC may only arise from the necessary delegation of
power from the Congress through a law. NTC would thus abide by any law passed by
Congress which may extend all telecommunication and broadcasting legislative
franchises that expired during the public health emergency, if there be any.
In any event, the NTC notes that these issues are already before the Supreme Court and
is duty-bound to desist from resolving and/or acting on such issues that are already
before the Court.
We have always been grateful for the guidance and support that have been generously
extended to us by the members of the 18th Congress under your esteemed leadership
and humbly ask for your kind understanding.
Gamaliel A. Cordoba
Commissioner
Edgardo V. Cabarios
Deputy Commissioner
Delilah F. Deles
Deputy Commissioner