“In effect, para ngang korte ang asta ng committee. And again, we are not talking about the entire House.”
This is what former Supreme Court spokesperson Theodore Te believes when asked to share his insights on the ABS-CBN shutdown during an open forum of ABS-CBN and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) July 9.
According to Te, in the Philippine Constitution, the Senate and the House has the ability to make their own rules.
“Actually ‘pag tiningnan natin yung sa Konstitusyon ano, wala namang operational details ‘yon. At naiiwan ‘yun sa bawat house, whether Senate or House of Representatives na magbalangkas ng sarili nilang rules kung paano nila bubusiin ang isang batas,” he pointed.
However, they do not have the quasi-judicial power same as the Supreme Court and any other courts.
The franchise renewal bid of ABS-CBN should have been a Republic Act (R.A). However, it became a Legislative Act of Congress since they were “debating on proposed laws”.
But the Network was singled out. Compared to other broadcasting networks, they were not probed as thoroughly as ABS-CBN.
“At ang malinaw naman do’n is, yung ibang aplikante, for renewal eh hindi ganito kasinsin ang pag-usisa.”
For Te, this move of the Franchise Committee can be considered as an “overkill”. He was surprised to see how a legislative body could act as if it is a “court”.
“Medyo kumbaga o.a. eh. Pero s’yempre naiintindihan natin. Alam natin kung bakit ganyan…kumbaga hindi lang o.a., overkill
“Pero kakaiba. Hindi ako miyembro ng Kongreso, pero ako medyo sinubaybayan ko ang mga hearings. Hindi lahat, pero most of the hearings nasundan ko. At nakakapagtaka kung bakit gano’n na lang kalalim ang pag-usisa.” he said.
Moreover, Te noted that the hearings did not reach the plenary. It was evident in administrative law that the findings from administrative agencies such as the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cannot be interfered with since the House committee is bound by law.
The only time the committee must meddle is when there is grave abuse of discretion.
“At Supreme Court na mismo ang nagsasabi nito na kapag yung sa mga administrative agencies na sila ang tinutukoy na may expertise sa field na yon, na unless mayro’n kang maituro na grave abuse of discretion, kumbaga may malubhang pagkukulang, hindi nga gagalawin ng Supreme Court ‘yun eh.
“They are bound by it eh. The Ombudsman’s findings, the BIR’s findings. Malinaw sa administrative law yun eh,” stressed Te.
But in the case of the Franchise Committee, Te emphasized how it “reversed” the findings of BIR and SEC.
“Eh dito, yung isang komite ng kongreso, ay hindi lang binabaliktad ang finding, hindi pinapaniwalaan. Eh mismong magkaparehong sangay ng gobyerno ‘yan,” he added.
The former SEC spokesperson also pointed that the Constitution describes clearly what Congress’s duty is in terms of network franchises. It is to investigate whether a media corporation’s franchise renewal may result in a greater good.
The only thing that the Constitution prohibits in granting a franchise renewal is when a Network becomes a “monopoly.”
“Ang prohibition lang naman sa Constitution ay iwasan ang maging monopoly eh. Yun ang malinaw na nakasulat sa Constitution.”
