House proper venue for ABS-CBN case – Solon
Credit to Author: Divina Nova Joy Dela Cruz| Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2020 17:19:29 +0000
A congressman said on Friday that the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) should file the case against ABS-CBN before the House of Representatives, not the Supreme Court.
Cagayan de Oro Second District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the quo warranto petitions the OSG plans to bring before the high court could be deemed as “a clear assault on press freedom as enshrined in our Constitution.”
The Manila Times has learned from a source familiar with the case that the OSG was preparing two draft petitions seeking the revocation of ABS-CBN’s congressional franchise.
Rodriguez, the chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, said under the Constitution, “the grant of franchises to broadcasting entities is lodged exclusively in the House and the Senate.”
“This will likewise encroach on the powers of the legislative branch and will violate the constitutional doctrine of the separation of powers among the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government,” he said.
Rodriguez said Solicitor General Jose Calida “cannot frustrate and remove such power by filing a quo warranto case.” If Calida pushes through with the petitions, he would be “disrespecting and denying due courtesy to Congress.”
He asked the solicitor general to let Congress do its job, through nine bills seeking to extend ABS-CBN’s franchise filed and pending deliberations with the House Committee on Legislative Franchises.
Under Republic Act (RA) 3846, radio and television broadcast stations are required to apply for a franchise from Congress before being allowed to operate.
“Let Congress do its job by hearings these bills,” Rodriguez said.
He also pointed out that under Section 9, Rule 66 of the Rules of Court, a respondent in quo warranto proceedings “will be ousted and/or excluded from holding or exercising a franchise if he is usurping, intruding into or unlawfully holding/exercising a franchise.”
“ABS-CBN is a holder of a valid franchise,” Rodriguez said.
RA 7966 granted ABS-CBN a 25-year franchise that expires in this March.