On ABS-CBN sudden shutdown by NTC: News anchors Julius Babao & Joyce Balancio throw incisive questions for a balanced, extensive discussion on the right to due process and freedom from prior restraint, May 9, 2020

MORE THAN A HUNDRED LEGAL LUMINARIES — U.P. College of Law faculty members — issued a statement that : “NTC failed to follow basic due process.”

On the ABS-CBN sudden shutdown by NTC: News anchors Julius Babao and Joyce Balancio throw incisive questions for a balanced, extensive discussion on the right to due process and freedom from prior restraint.

   “The Supreme Court in leading cases has ruled that a broadcast organization cannot be summarily closed down without due process.” – Law on Mass Media resource person, U.P. College of Mass Comm

May 9, 2020. Screengrab from ABS-CBN Teleradyo

     “NTC failed to follow basic due process.” -Statement of the U.P. College of Law signed by 106 U.P. Law faculty members

   See embedded statement signed by 106 legal luminaries and U.P. College of Law faculty members with the leadership of

U.P. College of Law Dean Fides “Deng” Cordero -Tan.

    Blog admin has embedded here, below the video, the statement with the signatories — more than a hundred prominent lawyers —  

      each of these legal luminaries would make for a better resource person than blog admin  🙂 

     so their names have been embedded here:

      The contact info of the U.P. College of Law can be found in their website.

       Maraming salamat sa mga mahuhusay na broadcast journalists ng ABS-CBN 🙂 

“Every moment’s continuance…” of this prior restraint “amounts to a flagrant, indefensible, and continuing violation…” of the right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press (paraphrasing a Supreme Court justice)

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              The House bill granting a 5-month franchise to ABS-CBN approved within one day on second reading will, at best, take a month to take effect. Meanwhile, the illegal shutdown of a news media organization (television and radio), made summarily and without a hearing, continues.
The NTC has apologized to Congress for failure to notify the House of the sudden shutdown against ABS-CBN (in response to a show-cause order why NTC should not be cited in contempt.)
The illegality persists.
In the meantime, Supreme Court justices have apparently not read the petition, as it will be taken up only on May 19. The justices are also on lockdown, perhaps, also “not aware”.
“Every moment’s continuance …” of this prior restraint “amounts to a flagrant, indefensible, and continuing violation of the First Amendment (the right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press)” (paraphrasing a Supreme Court justice).

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