- DOJ is set to release their statement regarding ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal next week
As per the request of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for a legal opinion, the Department of Justice is currently reviewing the case of ABS-CBN Corp. on whether its franchise should be extended, should the Senate fails to pass a law for it before its current franchise expires.
On February 20, Thursday, Justice Secretary Menardo Gueverra said that his agency will release their opinion next week since they are still reviewing the process.
“The justice department is ‘studying’ the National Telecommunications Commission’s request for a legal opinion on the matter,” Guevarra said.
“We got the request last Tuesday… We’ll reply by next week,” he added through a text message.
In an earlier interview, Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go stated, “The NTC in several instances had issued provisional licenses to operate for networks whose franchises were still being heard in Congress.”
The franchise of ABS-CBN will expire on March 30. Up until now, to extend or to nullify the media company’s franchise is a hot topic not just in the House of Congress, but also online.
A few years back, President Rodrigo Duterte repeatedly threatened to shut down ABS-CBN by not allowing it to get a new franchise because he believes that the media company sabotaged his presidential campaign in 2016 by not airing his ads.
For this reason, many believe that Pres. Duterte is behind all the attacks on ABS-CBN to satisfy his personal vendetta.
Last week, Solicitor General Jose Calida filed a quo warranto petition at the Supreme Court requesting to void the current franchise of ABS-CBN for allegedly violating their franchise law and the constitutional provision on foreign ownership.
Aside from this, the Solicitor General asked the high court to ban the network and its representatives from discussing the quo warranto petition he filed, so as not to influence the pre-judgment of the regulators and the public.
ABS-CBN has said that it did not violate any law in its 65 years of service.
As of the moment, more and more personalities are airing their support for ABS-CBN. Even Senator Nancy Binay is in favor of ABS-CBN renewal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjiquVusNtc
Just recently, ABS-CBN President and CEO Carlo Katigbak broke his silence about the on-going battle that his network is facing. This is the first time that he publicly spoken about the issues that his network is facing.
In a statement released by ABS-CBN, Katigbak said, “Para sa mga napakaraming nagpahayag ng suporta sa ABS-CBN, maraming maraming salamat po.
“ Ang mga pahayag ninyo ang nagbibigay sa amin ng tibay ng loob at lakas, lalo na sa oras ng matinding pagsubok. Asahan niyo po na ipaglalaban namin ang pagkakataong ituloy ang serbisyo sa inyo.
“Sa mga darating na araw hinihingi po namin ang inyong panalangin na magtutuloy ang ating pagsasama. Sa ABS-CBN po, naniniwala kami na Family is Forever.”
ABS-CBN Pres. Katigbak’s full message was aired last night, February 20, via TV Patrol.
Mensahe ni ABS-CBN Corp. President and CEO Carlo L. Katigbak. | Pebrero 20, 2020 pic.twitter.com/6RxjIYLVBT
— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) February 20, 2020
Meanwhile, the Senate is set to start the hearing on the alleged violations of the giant network on February 24, Monday.
