The ABS-CBN franchise renewal controversy is a national dispute in the Philippines regarding the renewal of the congressional franchise that would have allowed Philippine media network ABS-CBN to continue broadcasting. Disputes between the government of President Rodrigo Duterte and ABS-CBN arose on the terms and conditions of the franchise renewal agreement. Amid the controversy, the Congress of the Philippines, country's legislature, was unable to renew the franchise before its expiration date. The congressional franchise expired on May 4, 2020, as the Philippines was dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon. The next day, exercising constitutional powers, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) then issued a cease-and-desist order demanding ABS-CBN to cease all of its free TV and radio broadcasting immediately. ABS-CBN complied with the government order and shut down all of its radio stations and free television channels later that day. On June 30, 2020, the NTC and Solicitor General Jose Calida released two alias cease-and-desist orders against ABS-CBN TV Plus and Sky Direct. Beginning in 2014 (during the presidency of Benigno Aquino III), the network had repeatedly applied for the renewal of their broadcast franchise through private bills that had been pending in the House of Representatives but had not been addressed by the 16th, 17th, and 18th congresses of the Philippines. Prominent figures in ABS-CBN Corporation, the political opposition in the Philippines, media advocacy groups, and the international press have labeled the refusal of Congress to renew the franchise as a result of Duterte's pressure for ABS-CBN to cease broadcasting and a direct attack on the country's democracy and press freedoms, although sources from the previous administration reported that there was lack of support for renewal because "Mr. Aquino’s allies felt the criticisms against the President were too personal and offensive and went to the point of nitpicking." Duterte's ruling coalition maintains a supermajority in both chambers of Congress, and Duterte criticized the ABS-CBN Network for their allegedly biased and unfavorable news coverage against Duterte beginning with his presidential campaign in the 2016 Philippine presidential election, repeatedly voicing his opposition against the renewal of the network's congressional franchise. ABS-CBN subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court of the Philippines to nullify as unconstitutional the cease-and-desist order. The resulting franchise expiration and withdrawal of its broadcast rights marked the first time ABS-CBN, considered a historical and cultural icon in the Philippines, had been off the air since the 1986 revolution, having been seized and liquidated by the authoritarian government of the Martial Law dictatorship from 1972 until the regime's collapse in 1986. Critics of the Duterte government consider the NTC's cease-and-desist order and the denial of the franchise application as contributing to a growing democratic backsliding in the Philippines under the Duterte administration. (en)
Kontroversi perpanjangan izin penyiaran ABS-CBN adalah sebuah upaya penghentian perpanjangan izin penyiaran televisi Filipina ABS-CBN, salah satu perusahaan media tertua dan dan berpengaruh di negara ini. Izin penyiaran media yang tidak diperpanjang pada 4 Mei 2020 menyebabkan perusahaan media ini dipaksa pemerintah untuk menghentikan siaran mereka sejak 5 Mei 2020, setelah Komisi Telekomunikasi Nasional Filipina mengeluarkan aturan untuk melarang ABS-CBN untuk terus bersiaran setelah izin penyiaran mereka telah kedaluwarsa. Sejak tahun 2014, perusahaan ini telah mengajukan perpanjangan izin penyiaran yang izinnya masih tertahan di Kongres Filipina. Namun demikian, izin penyiaran ini tidak kunjung disetujui pada periode legislatif ke-16, ke-17, dan ke-18 kongres Filipina. Kelompok advokasi media dan kelompok jurnalisme internasional menandai isu ini sebagai masalah kebebasan pers karena campur tangan Presiden Filipina Rodrigo Duterte, beserta dukungan kuat para pendukungnya di lembaga eksekutif dan legislatif, yang telah berulang kali menyatakan ketidaksenangan dirinya pada pemberitaan media tersebut, sekaligus telah memberikan pernyataan bahwa ia tidak menginginkan untuk memperpanjang izin usaha media tersebut. Pemberhentian izin penyiaran ABS-CBN ini menjadi yang pertama setelah siaran televisi ini kembali mengudara pada 1986 pascapemberlakuan darurat militer oleh Presiden Ferdinand Marcos pada 1972 yang menyebabkan siaran televisi ini diberhentikan. 11.000 karyawan di perusahaan media ini pun dihadapkan pada ketidakpastian terhadap pekerjaan di tengah upaya negara tersebut menghadapi pandemi COVID-19. (in)
A controvérsia de renovação da franquia ABS-CBN diz respeito à não renovação da franquia do congresso da rede de televisão filipina ABS-CBN, uma das redes de mídia mais antigas e mais influentes do país. Isso levou a franquia do congresso a expirar em 4 de maio de 2020 e a rede ser forçada a interromper temporariamente sua transmissão em 5 de maio de 2020, depois que a Comissão Nacional de Telecomunicações (NTC) das Filipinas emitiu uma ordem de cessar e desistir, relacionada ao vencimento da franquia. Desde 2014, a rede solicitou a renovação de sua franquia por meio de projetos de lei pendentes na Câmara dos Deputados, mas estes não foram cumpridos pelos 16, 17 e 18 congressos das Filipinas. Grupos de defesa dos meios de comunicação e a imprensa internacional classificaram a questão como uma preocupação com a liberdade de imprensa desde que o presidente Rodrigo Duterte, cujos aliados têm uma supermaioria nos dois ramos do Congresso das Filipinas, manifestou repetidamente descontentamento com a cobertura noticiosa da rede, e declarou anteriormente que a franquia do congresso não seria renovada. A paralisação marcou a primeira vez que a rede saiu do ar desde 1986, tendo sido desligada durante a lei marcial sob Ferdinando Marcos, em 1972. A paralisação colocou a segurança do emprego de 11 mil funcionários da ABS-CBN em risco durante a . (pt)
As Congress has the sole authority to grant legislative franchises, the Court would be acting beyond its authority under the principle of the separation of powers if it were to restore either ABS-CBN's temporary permit to use the frequencies it had once been assigned, or for that matter its permanent franchise. (en)