“The NTC has the duty to protect the broadcasting industry from corporate entities with no respect for the law”
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba has been sleeping on the job.
Since Cordoba does not seem committed to his duties, he should resign immediately. If he doesn’t, then President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should take steps to get rid of this lazy oaf from the government.
Last week, an online publishing group whose activities apparently do not sit well with anti-communist agencies of the national government asked the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City to cite Cordoba’s NTC in contempt for the commission’s refusal to obey a directive of the trial court.
The contempt motion emanated from an injunction case the group filed against the NTC.
While I do not agree with the arguments of the online publishing group, Cordoba’s NTC has the legal obligation to comply with the order of the trial court. Parties to a court litigation must comply with court directives or face the possibility of being held in contempt.
If Cordoba’s NTC does not agree with the trial court’s directive, then the commission should take up the matter with the Court of Appeals, through its legal counsel, the Office of the Solicitor General. Unless the NTC takes that step, it must abide by the order of the trial court.
Why the NTC, through Cordoba, refuses to heed the court order is unexplained, and smacks of dereliction of duty. As a lawyer, Cordoba ought to know that he can face administrative charges both as a government official, and as a member of the Philippine Bar.
This incident is not the first time Cordoba has demonstrated his inaction on vital matters that have been brought to his attention.
In May 2020, the legislative franchise of broadcasting giant ABS-CBN Corporation expired. The broadcast empire applied for a renewal of its franchise but Congress rejected it.
Under Philippine law, a broadcast facility cannot legally operate without a franchise issued by Congress. That is the reason why it is called a legislative franchise.
In October 2020, ABS-CBN entered into a sweetheart deal with Zoe TV, a corporation with a legislative franchise to operate TV Channel 11.
Zoe TV is owned by the family of Senator Joel Villanueva, which controls a Christian religious organization. Villanueva’s Cibac partylist group, which is a political front of their religious organization, operates in brazen violation of the constitutional and statutory ban against religious groups engaging in partisan politics.
That deal, purportedly a “blocktime agreement,” allows ABS-CBN to air its programs through Zoe TV’s Channel 11. It is hardly a “blocktime agreement” and is more of a lease to operate Channel 11 because almost the entire broadcast day of Zoe TV is dedicated to ABS-CBN programs.
In fact, that deal led to the change of the Zoe TV’s name to A2Z.
The letter “A” stands for ABS-CBN; “2” refers to ABS-CBN’s former flagship free TV Channel 2; and “Z” pertains to Zoe TV. This is one unusual deal where the mere “blocktimer” gets to change the name of the corporation from which the “blocktimer” supposedly buys airtime.
Under the legislative franchise of Zoe TV, the latter cannot allow another broadcast entity to share its franchise without the prior approval of Congress. No such prior approval has been obtained.
In a letter dated February 24, 2021 which the NTC received on March 1, 2021, I asked the NTC, through Cordoba, to investigate the sweetheart deal between Zoe TV and ABS-CBN because that deal has the badges of illegality.
By way of a letter dated March 2, 2021, Cordoba’s assistant, a certain Atty. Andres Castelar Jr., informed me that the NTC will take “appropriate action” on the matter. Since then, Cordoba’s NTC never gave me any advisory on the “appropriate action” it promised.
I made several inquiries with the NTC but all I got was a run around. One and a half years have since passed and Cordoba’s NTC has not communicated with me.
This inaction on the part of Cordoba is inexcusable. He should resign his post at the NTC. I am considering filing anti-graft and administrative cases against Cordoba and his lazy minion, Atty. Castelar.
That is not the end of Cordoba’s inaction.
Just recently, ABS-CBN and MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., the owner of TV Channel 5, announced their merger, with ABS-CBN owning a considerable percentage of TV 5.
The merger agreement is illegal and anomalous because ABS-CBN has proven itself undeserving of using the broadcast airwaves because of its questionable sweetheart deal with Zoe TV.
To the disappointment of many, Cordoba’s NTC has not bothered to question the legality of the ABS-CBN and TV 5 merger.
The NTC has the duty to protect the broadcasting industry from corporate entities with no respect for the law. Under Cordoba, the NTC is a big disappointment.
Public interest demands Cordoba’s resignation as NTC chief.
