Telecommunications and Broadcast Attorneys of the Philippines vs. Commission on Elections (COMELEC) 289 SCRA 537 [DISEENTING OPINION, ROMERO, J.]

TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND BROADCAST ATTORNEYS OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC. and GMA NETWORK, INC., petitioners, vs. THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, respondent.

G.R. No. 132922 | 1998-04-21

BP 881 COMELEC procurement of print space should be paid but not airtime
Franchise is a mere privilege does not confer ownership
Administrative regulation cannot amend statute
Locus Standi, Standing jus tertii (standing to assert the rights of a third party)
Freedom of speech, of expression, and of the press; Broadcasting (television and radio), as compared to other forms of media, are entitled to more limited protection

ROMERO, J ., dissenting:

Section 92 of BP 881 constitutes taking of private property without just compensation. The power of eminent domain is a power inherent in sovereignty and requires no constitutional provision to give it force. It is the rightful authority which exists in every sovereignty, to control and regulate those rights of a public nature which pertain to its citizens in common, and to appropriate and control individual property for the public benefit as the public safety, necessity, convenience or welfare demand. 1 The right to appropriate private property to public use, however, lies dormant in the state until...