MANILA, Philippines — Invoking sub judice, or the rule restricting public discussion on pending court cases, is not a valid ground for skipping a congressional hearing, Sen. Francis Pangilinan said.
Solicitor General Jose Calida and the National Telecommunications Commission skipped the hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Services on Tuesday. They cited sub judice, or the rule that “restricts comments and disclosures pertaining to judicial proceedings to avoid prejudging the issue, influencing the court, or obstructing the administration of justice.”
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But Pangilinan, president of the minority Liberal Party and who is married to ABS-CBN talent Sharon Cuneta, said that “using such a reason that there is a pending case to evade or avoid a congressional hearing is unacceptable.”
“Otherwise, given all the cases that are pending before various courts against government agencies or its employees, they will all invoke sub judice in order to avoid a Senate hearing,” he also said.
This is the second time that Calida opted out of a Senate hearing on ABS-CBN's franchise.
He also cited sub judice in his letter to Sen. Grace Poe, panel chair, when he refused to attend the hearing held on February 24.
Calida has a pending quo warranto petition against the now-expired legislative franchise of the network before the SC. The NTC, meanwhile, was impleaded as respondent in ABS-CBN’s separate petition for certiorari on its cease and desist order against the network.
ABS-CBN executives, including CEO Carlo Katigbak, were present in both hearings.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian will preside over the hearing on bills on ABS-CBN’s franchise after Poe inhibited herself from the proceedings. Poe's mother Susan Roces has been a long-time talent in the network's shows.
Gatchalian said the committee will “mandate them to appear in the next hearing.”
Pangilinan added that this issue should apply to future hearings of the Congress.
“We will not recognize that (sub judice) as a valid ground to recuse from attending hearings at the Senate. We will not be stymied by such invocations now and in the future,” he added.
ABS-CBN: Retrenchment of employees looms
In the same hearing, Katigbak said that the network's being off the air—for two weeks now—could lead to the retrenchment of some of its workers in August.
ABS-CBN, in a petition filed before the Supreme Court, said the network loses between P30 million and P35 million for each day it is off the air.
“We continue to lose a substantial amount of money every month and I’m afraid if we cannot go back on air soon, by August may already have to consider the beginning of retrenchment process,” Katigbak told the panel.
Under the Labor Code, a company may initiate retrenchment "to prevent losses or the closing or cessation of operation of the establishment or undertaking." Employees who are retrenched are entitled to separation pay.
While Katigbak said the network would welcome even a five-month "provisional franchise, Sen. Miguel Zubiri said he would like to move to grant the network a franchise for a longer period.
This is so the House of Representatives would have “longer time to ventilate issues” while ABS-CBN continues to operate.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, for his part, said: “Nothing prevents the Senate from extending [the franchise] beyond five months.”
He said that they may discuss this in a bicameral conference. “There is a process to follow. We will be able to convince...to once and for all extend the franchise by 25 years,” he added.
Zubiri also stressed that there is a “dire need” for the issuance of a franchise to ABS-CBN since the network may lose their frequencies.
Katigbak told the panel that ABS-CBN has “built a national radio and TV network and transmitters” around the frequencies.
Losing the frequencies assigned to them would mean “another substantial investment on equipment and time before we can air.”
Meanwhile ABS-CBN has yet to secure a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court against the NTC’s Cease and Desist Order.
In an en banc session also Tuesday, the SC directed the NTC, Senate and House to file their respective comments on ABS-CBN’s petition for certiorari. — Kristine Joy Patag
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