After few days following the shutdown of ABS-CBN, House Speaker Alan Peter
Cayetano finally broke his silence on the Cease-and-Desist Order issued by the NTC,
saying that the members of Congress were all ambushed by the said commission. The
same sentiments were also aired by other members of Congress expressing a feeling of
having been betrayed by the NTC when the latter assured under oath to Congress that
it will issue a provisional authority allowing the media outfit to continue its broadcast
while its franchise application is still pending deliberation. However, a day after its
franchise expired, ABS-CBN was served with the shutdown order.
The dominant media organization has played its cards well when it decided to
gracefully obey the NTC order on that fateful night on the 6 th of May. It is fully aware
that neither the NTC nor Solicitor General Calidacan breathe another life to its already
expired franchise. It capitalizes on its wide share of viewers who can either make or
break an incumbent’s political career. This was quite evident during its last broadcast
when the reporter becomes the story. To some who are critical and cynical, ABS-CBN
has committed the fallacy of argumentum ad misericordiam which is a futile exercise
since the issue is the legality of its broadcast using government-owned frequency after
the lapse of its franchise. Black-letter law says that a valid franchise is a pre-condition
for a lawful broadcast.
In the coming days, Calida will again demonstrate his penchant as a dragon
slayer before the Supreme Court when the latter hears ABS-CBN’s TRO bid against the
NTC. Calida had infamous wins before the highest court of the land. With an expired
franchise which cannot be a valid source of a right, however, we know who will be
toppled in this legal battle.
This brings us now to the ultimate battle, the franchise renewal, which has
gathered dust in the halls of the House of Representatives. It is expected that ABS-CBN
will continue to bank on its freedom of expression narrative mustering all the support it
can gather from the public. Since the grant of a legislative franchise is within the
exclusive and discretionary power of the legislature, the issue now becomes purely
political. If ABS-CBN continues to get a consistent public support, it will eventually get
its franchise. While some members of Congress are ululating freedom of expression and
are pushing for immediate renewal of the franchise, the ultimate decision of some, if
not all, members of Congresswill, to some extent, be based on how the franchise
decision translates into votes (or funds?) for the coming 2022 elections.
Unless a reform is instituted in the Constitution and in the implementing laws
placing the power to grant or renew franchise to an apolitical body, the issue of
franchise renewal will always be subject to the whims and caprices of politics. As an
undesirable consequence, the constitutional right to the freedom of expression may be
subjected to undue restraint from the powers that be when a media organization does
not bow down to patronage politics.