(Eagle News) – The Office of the Solicitor General asked the Supreme Court on Monday, Feb. 10, to cancel and revoke the existing franchise of ABS-CBN corporation and its subsidiary by filing a quo warranto petition with the high court.
“We want to put an end to what we discovered to be highly abusive practices of ABS-CBN benefitting a greedy few at the expense of millions of its loyal subscribers. These practices have gone unnoticed or were disregarded for years,” Solicitor General Jose Calida said in a statement.
The legislative franchise of the media giant is set to expire in March, and the House of Representatives has not yet tackled the bills seeking to renew the firm’s license to operate.
The OSG also used the same quo warranto mode to oust Supreme Court justice Maria Lourdes Sereno from her Chief Justice post, saying that her holding the position was void from the start.
The quo warranto petition was filed against ABS-CBN Corporation and its subsidiary, ABS-CBN Convergence Inc.
ABS-CBN’s legislative franchise ends on March 30.
The OSG said that its petition will show that “ABS-CBN has been broadcasting for a fee, which is beyond the scope of its legisltative franchise.”
Calida said that the media has also been hiding behind an “elaborately crafted corporate veil” and has been allowing foreign investors to take part in the ownership of a Philippine mass media entity.
He said that this was in violation of the foreign interest restriction of mass media provided under Section 11, Aricle XVI of the Constitution.
Calida referred to the firm’s “pay-per-view channel” through ABS-CBN TV Plus, particularly the KBO Channel.
“ABS-CBN abused the privilege granted by the State when it launched and operated a pay-per view channel in ABS-CBN TV Plus, the KBO Channel, without prior approval or permit from the National Telecommunications Commission,” he said.
“While it is true that broadcasting is a business, the welfare of the people must not be sacrificed in the pursuit of profit.”
Calida said that ABS-CBN, like Rappler, had issued Philippine Deposit Receipts (PDRs) through ABS-CBN Holdings Corporation to foreigners, in violation of the foreign ownership restriction on mass media in the Constitution.
