The Supreme Court on Tuesday, August 25, has voted to dismiss the TRO petition filed by ABS-CBN against the National Telecommunications Commission’s cease and desist order.
According to SC Spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka, the Supreme Court justices unanimously voted to dismiss the petition for being moot and academic following the denial of the network’s franchise application.
“According to the Court, in light of the supervening denial of the pending House Bills for the renewal of ABS-CBN Corporation’s legislative franchise on July 10, 2020, the Court finds it appropriate to dismiss the case on the ground of mootness,” Hosaka said
“Because of this supervening event, there is no actual substantial relief which ABS-CBN Corporation would be entitled to regardless of the Court’s disposition of the merits of the Petition,” he added.
ABS-CBN filed the petition on May 7, following NTC’s cease and desist order against the network. The court, however, failed to tackle the petition until Congress decided to deny ABS-CBN’s franchise application on July 10.
Meanwhile, although expected, netizens were still disappointed with how the SC handled the case. One netizen said, they could have acted on it immediately and not waited for the franchise to expire and be denied before making a decision.
“This was expected but can’t help but be disappointed. Reality is, if they wanted to grant a TRO it should have acted while the hearings were ongoing. Tuloy ang pag let go ng ABS-CBN employees on August 31. Salamat ha.”
This was expected but can’t help but be disappointed. Reality is, if they wanted to grant a TRO it should have acted while the hearings were ongoing. Tuloy ang pag let go ng ABS-CBN employees on August 31. Salamat ha. https://t.co/2ukrVZjKti
— Rose (@rose218) August 25, 2020
ABS-CBN filed their petition for a TRO vs the National Telecommunications Commission's cease and desist order back in May 7.
The justices had enough time to discuss the merits of the case, but they delayed the process. Just imagine had they scheduled oral arguments back in May. https://t.co/L6s3PQtqeK
— Mark Pere Madrona (@FilipinoScribe) August 25, 2020
https://twitter.com/iMelAljon/status/1298125448170242048
https://twitter.com/CWinrad/status/1298186890286227456
https://twitter.com/inigo_sim/status/1298116828061818880
