MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang stressed on Monday that President Rodrigo Duterte has nothing to do with the Office of the Solicitor General’s petition before the Supreme Court to revoke the existing franchise of broadcast giant ABS-CBN.

“Ang bawat heads ng kani-kaniyang department may kanya-kanyang tungkulin. At ang Pangulo hindi nakikialam doon,”

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in an interview on dzMM.

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(Heads of every government agency have their own mandate. And the President does not meddle in it.)

“Kung ang tungkulin mo ay maghabla ka ng mga lumalabag sa batas e gawin mo yun at hayaan mo ang hukuman ang magdesisyon doon sa fi-nile mo,” he added.

(If it’s your duty to sue entities who violated the law, you should do so and let the courts decide on your complaint.)

Solicitor General Jose Calida on Monday morning filed a “Very Urgent Omnibus Motion for Quo Warrant” petition before the high court to revoke the legislative franchise of ABS-CBN, saying the TV network has violated rules set by Congress.

READ: BREAKING: Solicitor General asks SC to forfeit ABS CBN’s franchise

Duterte has repeatedly threatened to shut down the media network due to its alleged failure to air his 2016 presidential campaign advertisements.

Panelo, however, claimed that the President’s verbal threat is part of his freedom of expression and is “unrelated to the SolGen’s move.

“We cannot deprive the President as a citizen of this country to express himself. Walang kaugnayan itong petisyon ni SolGen (The SolGen’s petition is unrelated),” Panelo said.

Several bills seeking to renew ABS-CBN for another 25 years remain pending before the House of Representatives’ Committee on Legislative Franchises.

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The existing franchise expires on March 30, 2020.

GSG

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