Philippine broadcaster fights order to shut down
Reuters•May 7, 2020


Philippine broadcaster fights order to shut down
FILE PHOTO: A man runs outside the ABS-CBN network headquarters where candles are lit following government orders to cease its operations, in Quezon City

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines' biggest broadcaster asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to quash an order by the telecoms regulator to shut down its operations, saying it undermined freedom of speech and the public right to information.

The regulator's order for ABS-CBN Corp to cease operations after its 25-year license expired has prompted allegations by critics of President Rodrigo Duterte that his allies are trying to intimidate the media.

The president repeatedly threatened to block the renewal of ABS-CBN's franchise after the channel angered him during the 2016 presidential election by refusing to air his campaign commercial.

"The continued operation of ABS-CBN is a matter of public interest and transcendental importance, it being among the largest broadcasting entities in terms of coverage and audience," the company said.

ABS-CBN Corp also asked the Supreme Court to hear its petition quickly, saying the livelihood of thousands of its employees and their families were at stake.

The 66-year-old entertainment and media conglomerate, said in it its petition that it employs 11,000 people.

It also operates 21 radio and 38 television stations nationwide and distributes online content. It went off air on Tuesday to comply with the regulator's order, to widespread dismay from labor, business and media groups and opposition lawmakers.

"To close ABS-CBN now when it is most needed would certainly be detrimental to the public," it said. "ABS-CBN cannot be closed without compromising the fundamental guarantees of freedom of speech and the press."

ABS-CBN said the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) abused its discretion when it ordered its closure even after it indicated in March the broadcasting company could remain on air pending its license renewal. ABS-CBN's 25-year congressional franchise expired on May 4.

"The NTC's bad faith, malice and underhandedness are simply shocking and abhorrent," ABS-CBN said.

The NTC was not immediately available for comment. The regulator said on Wednesday it stood by its decision and that ABS-CBN could seek a temporary restraining order from a court.

Several bills extending ABC-CBN's license have been pending as a parliament dominated by Duterte's loyalists dragged its feet over renewing its franchise.

ABS-CBN had apologised for what happened during the 2016 election campaign and the president's office said the mercurial leader no longer had an axe to grind with the station, despite past grievances.

"Even if the president would wish to give them a franchise, under the constitution, only Congress has the power to grant it," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said on Thursday.

Philippine TV network fights closure with court petition

JIM GOMEZ,Associated Press•May 7, 2020


A man stands next to a logo at the headquarters of broadcast network ABS-CBN Corp. on Wednesday May 6, 2020 in Manila, Philippines. Philippine church and business leaders expressed alarm Wednesday over a government agency’s shutdown of the country’s largest TV and radio network, which has been a major provider of news on the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines' largest TV and radio network, which was shut this week by a government regulator, asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow it to return to the air amid an uproar over its closure.

ABS-CBN Corp. said in its petition to the court that the Tuesday closure order by the National Telecommunications Commission muzzled freedom of the press and removed a major provider of news and entertainment while millions are under a coronavirus lockdown.

“The public needs the services of ABS-CBN, now more than ever, as the country grapples with the effects of COVID-19,” the broadcaster told the court.

Media watchdogs have accused President Rodrigo Duterte and his government of muzzling independent media like ABS-CBN that have reported critically on issues including his anti-drug crackdown. Duterte has accused the network of favoring a rival candidate in the 2016 election and had threatened to block its franchise approval.

The telecommunications commission ordered ABS-CBN to stop operating because its 25-year congressional franchise ended on Monday. But the move was a reversal of the regulator’s earlier assurance to Congress that it would issue the network a temporary permit to remain on air while legislators assess its franchise renewal.

At least six broadcasters have been allowed in the past to continue operating after their franchises expired and their renewal applications were still pending in the House of Representatives, which has exclusive power to grant and revoke such franchises.

Opposition Sen. Franklin Drilon, a former justice secretary, said the closure order violated the constitution, which guarantees equal protection and treatment under the law, and was a “grave abuse of discretion.”

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has cited the same constitutional principle and said the network should be able to continue operating while its franchise renewal is pending. Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin used an expletive in a tweet to express his disgust with the telecommunications commission.

Alarm over the shutdown has been expressed by a wide range of groups, including business leaders, left-wing activists, journalists and TV celebrities.

A Roman Catholic bishop, Broderick Pabillo, said shuttering ABS-CBN “is very unbecoming at best and traitorous to the people at worst” and was “a brazen exercise of power to show who is in charge, using the law and its technicalities as a tool of control."

Founded in 1953, the network was last closed down under the rule of dictator Ferdinand Marcos and reopened after his 1986 overthrow by an army-backed “people power” revolt.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte has a neutral position on ABS-CBN's closure, but the government’s solicitor-general, Jose Calida, warned telecommunication commissioners they could face criminal charges if they allowed the network to remain in operation without a franchise.

In February, Calida asked the Supreme Court to revoke the operating franchises of ABS-CBN and a subsidiary in a separate attempt to shut down the company for allegedly abusing its franchises and violating a constitutional prohibition on foreign investment in Philippine media. ABS-CBN denied the allegations.