THINK TANK URGES DUTERTE: RECALL NTC SHUTDOWN ORDER ON ABS-CBN

Infrawatch PH convenor Terry Ridon has called on President Duterte to recall the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) order to shut down ABS-CBN, saying it interferes with congressional deliberations on legislative franchises.

Duterte earlier said he had asked all parties to respect the duty of the House of Representatives to act on the 11 pending bills for the grant of a legislative franchise to ABS-CBN.

"Now is the time to be true to your word, Mr. President. The NTC is under your control. It interfered with congressional prerogatives by issuing the closure order. It even defied its own orders. Most important, it defied your commitment not to interfere. And only you have the power to take that order back. With respect, the buck stops with you,” said Ridon, who sat as a member of the House committee on legislative franchises when he was a Kabataan partylist congressman.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevara said that the President may "may modify, amend, recall, revoke any order or any decision that might have been rendered by his subordinates in the executive department.”

“In fact, the President should discipline the NTC for violating its own orders covering the quarantine period. They issued Memorandum Order No. 03-03-2020 which extends the validity of NTC permits, licenses and certificates 60 days after the lifting of the quarantine, yet they issued the closure order on ABS-CBN during the quarantine period,” Ridon argued.