The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is keen to elevate the legal dispute with NOW Corp. affiliate News and Entertainment Network Corp. (Newsnet) to the Supreme Court (SC) after the appellate court ruled the enforcement of an already inoperative ruling by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA).
“The Court of Appeals (CA) decision is not final and the NTC will elevate this case to the SC,” NTC said in a statement following reports that its motion for reconsideration has been denied by the CA’s former eighth division in a resolution promulgated last March 28.
In a 12-page resolution promulgated on March 28, the CA former special eighth division denied the motion for reconsideration filed by NTC, thus the court’s decision on July 2022 “stands.”
On July 20, 2022, the CA granted the petition for mandamus filed by Newsnet against the NTC that sought to compel the latter to comply with the order of ARTA on Feb. 12, 2020, that automatically approved its application for the issuance of a certificate of public convenience to install, operate and maintain a local multi-point distribution ystem (LMDS) to deliver interactive pay television and multimedia services in south and north Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao in the 25.35 GHz to 26.35 GHz frequency range, with authority to charge rates.
The NTC, which has not received a copy of the latest CA resolution, maintained that the mandamus could no longer be enforced after ARTA eventually reversed its Feb. 12, 2022, decision directing the Commission to automatically approve Newsnet’s application to install, operate and maintain a LMDS.
It will be recalled that ARTA, in a resolution dated June 17, 2022, recalled its previous decision favoring Newsnet, a move that was eventually upheld by the Office of the President (OP).
“The (ARTA) has already reversed itself so there is no ARTA decision that can be subject to mandamus,” the NTC said.
It added: “On 31 March 2023, the Office of the President affirmed ARTA’s action, saying that ‘Thus, ARTA’s vacating of its orders were in the nature of executing of or complying with the DOJ (Department of Justice) ruling that it did not possess the power to issue its February 12, 2020 Order. For having been issued in excess of its powers, the 12 February 2020 Order never became final and was properly vacated.’”
The OP dismissed Newsnet’s appeal to reverse ARTA’s order nullifying its earlier ruling on the “automatic approval” of Newsnet’s application.
The OP held that ARTA had no jurisdiction over the assignment of frequencies, and that the recall of ARTA’s Feb. 12, 2020, order was only proper having been rendered without jurisdiction, and the expiration of Newsnet’s franchise rendered its application moot.
Meanwhile, the NTC insisted that Newsnet could no longer be allowed to operate and be assigned a radio frequency after its legislative franchise expired in August 2021. – Myla Iglesias
