After several absences, Solicitor General Jose Calida finally attended the congressional hearing on the ABS-CBN franchise.
In his opening statement, Calida repeated the same allegations that he alleged in his quo warranto petition against ABS-CBN.
However, during the Monday, June 1 hearing, Calida said he will not answer any questions about ABS-CBN directly related to his pending petition at the Supreme Court.
Calida again cited the sub judice rule and principle of non-encroachment on the exclusive domain of judicial jurisdiction as his reasons for avoiding answering questions.
“I maintain this position and thus I am not allowed to answer any questions involving matters pending on the Supreme Court,” said Calida.
According to the Solicitor General, sub judice rule “restricts comments and disclosures pertaining to the judicial proceedings in order to avoid prejudging the issue, influencing the court, or obstructing the administration of justice.”
This was the first time that Calida went to a Congressional hearing about ABS-CBN franchise since he started his moves against the network.
In February, Calida was first invited to the Senate hearing on ABS-CBN franchise violations but he failed to attend citing sub judice rule.
The same reason was given by the Solgen to the House of Representatives when he did not attend their March 2020 hearing and their May 26th hearing on the ABS-CBN franchise.
Calida was the main petitioner of the quo warranto case against ABS-CBN at the Supreme Court. He was also tagged as the reason for NTC’s decision to issue cease and desist order against ABS-CBN by virtue of his letter sent to NTC commissioners warning them of the possible repercussions if they will grant ABS-CBN provisional authority.
