Two days after the giant network was shut down, ABS-CBN asked the Supreme Court to junk the National Telecommunications Commission’s cease and disease order issued last May 5, 2020.
As per the ABS-CBN’s petition to the highest Philippine court, NTC has violated the network’s equal protection of the law and right to due process.
The decision of NTC was acted with grave abuse of discretion and was opposed to their statement last February 24 in a hearing at the House of Representatives that they will provide provisional authority to ABS-CBN.
BREAKING: ABS-CBN asks Supreme Court for TRO to stop implementation of NTC’s cease and desist order pic.twitter.com/OaRXuokUpR
— Mike Navallo (@mikenavallo) May 7, 2020
NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba had said then under oath: “May I assure this committee that barring a gross violation of its franchise of the NTC rules and regulations, the NTC will follow the latest advice of the DOJ and let ABS-CBN continue operations based on equity.”
NTC’s cease and desist order against ABS-CBN came after Solicitor General Jose Calida warned its officials last May 3, 2020. According to Calida, NTC officials may face graft charges if they will keep their promise to provide provisional authority to ABS-CBN.
Furthermore, in ABS-CBN’s petition, the network stated the cease and desist order of NTC clearly violates the right of the public for information and curtailed freedom of speech, along with the serious damage it implicates to thousands of employees of the network.
The CDO, ABS-CBN said, also violates the right of the public to information and curtail freedom of speech, as well as cause serious and irreparable damage on ABS-CBN and thousands of its employees if its implementation is not halted.
— Mike Navallo (@mikenavallo) May 7, 2020
