Pormal nang naghain si Solicitor General (SolGen) Jose Calida ng quo warranto petition para ipawalang bisa ang legislative franchises ng ABS-CBN Corporation at kanilang subsidiary.
Sa inihaing petisyon ni Calida, nais daw nilang wakasan ang abusive practices ng ABS-CBN na ang iilan lamang ang nakikinabang sa kabila ng pagkakaroon nito ng milyong subscribers.
Ang naturang practice daw ng ABS-CBN ay hindi umano nahalata o nabalewala lamang ng ilang taon.
Ayon sa Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), makikita raw sa petisyon na nagbo-broadcast ng libre ang naturang korporasyon na lagpas na sa kanilang legislative franchise.
Maliban dito, hinahayaan din umano ng korporasyon ang mga foreign investors na makibahagi sa ownership ng Philippine mass media entity na paglabag sa foreign interest na nasa ilalim ng Section 11, Article XVI ng Philippine
Constitution.
“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. While it is true that broadcasting is a business, the welfare of the people must not be sacrificed in the pursuit of profit,” ani Calida.
Gaya din umano ng Rappler, nag-isyu rin ang ABS-CBN Philippine Deposit Receipts
(PDRs) sa pamamagitan ng ABS-CBN Holdings Corporation sa mga foreigners na paglabag sa foreign ownership restriction sa mass media.
“Section 11, Article XVI of the Constitution provides that “The
ownership and management of mass media shall be limited to citizens of the Philippines, or to corporations, cooperatives or associations, wholly-owned
and managed by such citizens. This simply means that mass media companies operating in the Philippines must be 100% Filipino owned because they play an integral role in a nation’s economic, political, and socio-cultural landscape,” dagdag ni Calida.
Sa kabilang dako ang ABS-CBN Convergence, Inc. na dati umanong Multi-Media Telephony, Inc. ay nag-resort din sa ingenious corporate layering scheme para ilipat ang franchise na walang Congressional approval.
Bigo rin umano silang ilabas ang ano mang outstanding capital stock sa securities exchange sa bansa sa loob ng limang taon.
“The legislative franchises of ABS-CBN Corporation and its subsidiary ABS-CBN Convergence, Inc., must be revoked. A franchise is a special privilege granted by the State, and should be restricted only to entities which faithfully adhere to our Constitution and laws,” wika pa no Calida.
