Cease-desist order can't be appealed before Office of the President — Guevarra
By Jeffrey Damicog
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra clarified on Wednesday, May 6, that the cease and desist order issued against ABS-CBN is not appealable before the Office of the President.
Guevarra pointed this out amid appeals for President Duterte to allow ABS-CBN to operate following the cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on Tuesday following the expiration of the network’s legislative franchise on May 4.
“Orders of the NTC are not appealable to the Office of the President,” the Secretary told reporters.
Guevarra admitted that “the President, as chief executive, has control over all agencies in the executive department (but) the manner in which he will exercise this control takes many forms.”
“But in the present case, the President has categorically stated that he will not interfere with the NTC’s orders,” he also reminded.
Earlier, Guevarra revealed that the media giant could seek a judicial review over the issuance of the cease and desist order before the regional trial courts (RTC) or the Court of Appeals (CA).
The secretary had been firm on the Department of Justice (DOJ) stance that the NTC could issue a provisional authority that would allow ABS-CBN to operate while the renewal of its legislative franchise remains pending.
“The NTC requested our opinion and the DOJ gave them an advice in accordance with law and equity,” he had recounted.
“The Congress expressed essentially the same view as that of the DOJ and further enjoined the NTC to issue a provisional authority to ABS-CBN,” he added.
Read more: NTC orders ABS-CBN to stop operations
