The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed outright the petition of a lawyer who challenged the National Telecommunications Commission’s (NTC) cease and desist order (CDO) that forced television network ABS-CBN Corporation to halt its nationwide broadcast last May 5.
In a full court resolution issued after its full court session last June 16, the SC ruled that petitioner, Atty. Paris Real, has no legal standing to file the case.
As of Wednesday morning, the SC has not released its resolution.
The petition filed by ABS-CBN itself against the NTC’s CDO is set for deliberation on July 13, Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta said last week.
It was not known immediately if ABS-CBN’s original and reiterative pleas for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against NTCs CDO would still be considered or if the petition itself is submitted for decision.
Earlier, the SC had dismissed the petition, also for lack of legal standing, of lawyer Lorenzo Gadon who pleaded the High Court to stop the NTC from issuing ABS-CBN a provisional authority (PA) to operate.
Gadon had earlier withdrawn his petition and claimed his case had become moot with the issuance of NTC’s CDO.
But the SC, instead of granting the motion to withdraw, dismissed Gadon’s petition.
The SC said:
“Filing cases in the Supreme Court is a serious affair. It should never be considered except when all the requisites of judicial review are present. Certainly, it should never be contemplated by one who admits not suffering any legal injury. Not only will the over eagerness to file border on the contumacious, it also puts in unnecessary peril the legal arguments of the person or entity that has an actual case.”
In his petition, Real told the SC that ABS-CBN’s franchise has not expired due to the current public health emergency that President Duterte himself declared.
“The expirations of the Franchises of ABS-CBN and its Permits to Operate, Certificates and Licenses from the NTC, were interrupted, tolled and/or suspended by the aforesaid Emergency Laws during the Community Quarantine and the same shall ‘continue to be valid sixty (60) days after the end of the government-imposed quarantine period,’” Real said.
He also claimed: “In fact, the same Emergency Laws mandate that the ‘holders of these permits, certificates and licenses shall be given sixty (60) days from the end of the government-imposed quarantine period to file for the renewal of their permits, certificates and licenses, without penalties or surcharges.” (Rey G. Panaligan)