Press Release
May 4, 2020

STATEMENT OF SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS ON THE GRANT OF PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY TO ABS-CBN CORPORATION

I stand with my colleagues in the Senate and the House of Representatives that nothing should prevent the National Telecommunications Commission from issuing a provisional authority to ABS-CBN and its subsidiaries while the renewal of its franchise is pending in Congress.

The Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Department of Justice itself are all in agreement that Congress may allow the NTC to grant a provisional authority to ABS-CBN in the meantime. In fact, it was Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra who proposed and confirmed in our Senate hearings that Congress may authorize such action.

It is very strange to me why the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) insists on contradicting the uniform views of not only both houses of Congress, but also the DOJ itself- to which the OSG is attached.

Even more questionable is why the government's chief counsel insists on shutting down a broadcast network in the middle of a health emergency and depriving the public of a critical means to receive timely and accurate information. The OSG has misplaced priorities, and should just focus its energies on supporting government efforts amid the pandemic.

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