The government has lost a media partner in information dissemination after ABS-CBN network was unable to secure a new franchise, Malacañang admitted on Sunday.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the Palace recognizes Congress has prerogative to grant broadcast franchises but will defer to the Supreme Court to decide if the network's franchise can be regained through the proposed people's initiative.

"The Palace notes the July 3-6 National Mobile Survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS), which shows that a majority of adult Filipinos believe that Congress should renew the franchise of ABS-CBN Corporation," he said.

"We lost a media partner in information dissemination, considering that the broadcast network has one of the widest, if not the widest reach, in the archipelago," he said.

ABS-CBN free broadcast stations will remain off the air after the House committee on legislative franchises has rejected the company's franchise application.  

Seventy committee members voted in favor of the resolution denying the franchise bid, 11 against, and with one abstention and two inhibitions. The committee reportedly found the applicant as "undeserving" of the grant of a legislative franchise. 

Lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno reportedly floated the possibility of using the people's initiative to advance the franchise bid of the network. The station shut down its broadcast stations last May 5 upon the order of a state telecommunication regulatory agency over its expired franchise.

According to Roque, the grant of a broadcast franchise is the sole and exclusive prerogative of Congress. He invoked Republic Act No. 7925 or the Public Telecommunications Policy Act that states that franchise is a privilege conferred upon a telecommunications entity by Congress, authorizing that entity to engage in a certain type of telecommunications service.

Roque however acknowledged that it is up to the Supreme Court to rule on proposals to use the mechanism of the people's initiative to grant the network a franchise.

Under Republic Act No. 6735 or the Initiative and Referendum Law, the people can propose, enact, approve or reject any act or law passed by Congress. At least 10 percent of the registered voters will be needed to exercise the power of initiative or referendum.

"Whether the franchise of ABS-CBN may be granted through a people's initiative despite the clear wording of R.A. 7925, whether it matters that a franchise bill is a private bill that must 'originate exclusively in the House of Representatives' in accordance with Article VI, Section 24 of the Constitution -- these and related questions we leave to the Supreme Court, as the final arbiter of the appropriate interpretation of these provisions in the Constitution and our laws," he said.

"We will defer to the Court if ever it rules on this issue in the future," he added.

The SWS survey showed 75 percent of Filipinos agree that Congress must grant the network another franchise. At least 13 percent disagreed while 10 percent are undecided on ABS-CBN’s bid for franchise renewal.