(Eagle News) – The Supreme Court asked the Senate and the House of Representatives to give its comment on the petition filed by ABS-CBN questioning the cease and desist order (CDO) issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
In its en banc session on Tuesday, May 19, the high court “separately impleaded the Senate and the House of Representative as a party to the case and required them to comment on the Petition within a non-extendible period of 10 calendar days from receipt of notice.”
The SC also asked the NTC to file its comment on the ABS CBN’s petition within “10 calendar days from receipt of notice.”
The high court also asked the NTC to file its reply to the media network’s petition within five days “from personal notice of the said comments of the Senate and House of Representatives.”
All these actions were “unanimously approved by the 14 Justices of the Supreme Court,” according to the SC’s Public Information Office.
The NTC issued its cease and desist order against ABS CBN on May 5, a day after its legistlative franchise expired.
Two days later, the media giant filed a petition with the Supreme Court questioning the NTC’s CDO, and asked the high court to nullify it. It also sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the court on the NTC’s order.
The House of Representatives had slammed the NTC for issuing the CDO, and inisisted that it should have given the media network a provisional authority that would allow it to operate while Congress deliberated on the various bills seeking a renewal of its 25-year franchise.
The NTC has said that it had no other option but to issue a CDO in the absence of a legislative franchise from Congress for the media network.
“Any authority should be predicated on a valid congressional franchise. Hindi puedeng Congressional resolution lang,” Cabarios said referring to the resolution by both the House of Representatives and the Senate urging the NTC to issue a provisional authority for ABS-CBN last March 10.
He then advised ABS-CBN to seek a TRO from the Supreme Court if it wants to question the NTC’s ruling.
(Eagle News Service)
