MANILA, Philippines — The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on Tuesday issued a Cease and Desist Order against ABS-CBN after its legislative franchise expired on May 4. No 7966, which granted ABS-CBN a 25-year franchise to operate its TV and radio broadcasting stations, NTC said that ABS-CBN “no longer has a valid and subsisting congressional franchise as required by Act No. “The NTC Regional Offices shall implement the closure order in their respective areas of jurisdiction,” NTC said in a statement. In assuring that ABS-CBN will continue its operations while Congress tackles the bills seeking its renewal, House leaders banked on the NTC granting the network a provisional authority to operate. According to Calida, NTC could not grant provisional authorities to ABS-CBN Corporation and its affiliate, ABS-CBN Convergence, Inc. because it must first secure a franchise from Congress.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer May 05, 2020 08:40 UTC