SC junks Gadon's petition against provisional license to ABS-CBN

The Supreme Court (SC) has voted unanimously to dismiss the petition of lawyer Larry Gadon against the possible issuance of a provisional franchise to ABS-CBN. 

Gadon petitioned the court for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and others in granting media giant ABS-CBN a provisional authority to operate.

SC spokesperson Brian Hosaka said Gadon’s petition was junked for failure to comply with the requisites for judicial review. The court also noted that Gadon had no legal standing on the matter as he was suffering no legal injury from the case involving ABS-CBN.

“Having no legal standing, the court does not deem it efficient to proceed to deliberate on the other issues he (Gadon) raises. The procedural and substantial issues hinted in the petition will better be adjudicated with the real parties in interest,” the SC decision said.

"Filing cases in the Supreme Court is a serious affair. It should never be considered except when all the requisites of judicial review are present. Certainly, it should never be contemplated by one who admits not suffering any legal injury,”

The court ruled on Gadon's petition even though the lawyer withdrew his motion last May 21. 

Gadon said Cayetano’s withdrawal of his promise to grant ABS-CBN a provisional authority and the NTC’s cease and desist order against the network made his motion irrelevant.