The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has opposed two legislative bills that seek to allow holders of expired franchises to continue operating while their pleas for renewal remain pending in Congress.
In a 13-page position paper, the OSG assailed Senate Bill No.1530 and House Bill No. 7923, both of which seek to amend Section 18, Book VII, Chapter 3 of Executive Order No. 292, otherwise known as the Administrative Code of 1987.
The OSG said: “It is apparent that the proposed bills raise constitutional and legal questions and issues that are not to be taken lightly. Should the bills be allowed to become a law, the OSG stands ready to fulfill its role as Tribune of the People to itself raise the constitutionality of the law passed before the Supreme Court.”
It pointed out that “both bills suffer from legal infirmities which may render the subsequent law as void and unconstitutional.”
“To allow an entity with an expired franchise to operate, pending its application and determination by Congress of its franchise, is a constitutional violation since that same entity or person is no longer qualified as mandated by the Constitution, to enjoy the privilege granted by the State,” it said.
“Moreover, the inclusion of legislative franchises in the proposed amendment would not only undermine the power of Congress to limit the term of a franchise grant, but would also have the potential to be violative of the constitutional limit of fifty years as found in Section 11, Article XII of the Constitution,” it added.
The OSG also warned that “when an expired franchise holder, which may have otherwise been - for any number of reasons - disqualified from having its franchise renewed, may continue to enjoy the benefits of a legislative franchise far beyond the expiration of the original grant.”