‘TV Patrol’ airs despite NTC’s cease and desist order

MANILA, Philippines – ABS-CBN‘s evening newscast TV Patrol aired for the first time since the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a cease and desist order (CDO) against the media giant.

On Thursday, May 7, at 6:25 pm, TV Patrol aired online through ABS-CBN’s website, its official Facebook page and YouTube channel, on its content platform iWant, and on ts cable news channel ANC.

This is TV Patrol’s first broadcast since ABS-CBN signed off on Tuesday, May 5, the same day the NTC issued the CDO on the grounds that its 25-year congressional franchise had expired.

When the network was asked to cease operations, there were at least 9 bills pending in Congress for its franchise renewal. The NTC had promised in March that it would grant the network provisional authority to operate.

On Sunday, Solicitor General Jose Calida  warned the NTC against granting ABS-CBN provisional authority to operate while the renewal of its franchise is pending in Congress. Calida had filed a  quo warranto petition in February, seeking to stop ABS-CBN’s operations.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra countered Calida the next day, saying that the network can keep operating despite the franchise expiration.

House committee on legislative franchises chairman Franz Alvarez also said on Tuesday that the solicitor general cannot challenge the lower chamber’s authority.

The shutdown on May 5 has been met with criticism, with  rights groups, media workers, labor groups, and lawmakers denouncing the move as a threat to media freedom and an abuse of power.

President Rodrigo Duterte himself has expressed that he did not want the network’s franchise to be renewed because of alleged swindling and unfair election coverage. He has since accepted the network’s apology, but said the franchise renewal was out of his hands. – Rappler.com