Lawmakers ask SC to pull Fox, AXN off the air

The Supreme Court (SC) has received two petitions asking the high court to revoke the franchises of Fox International Channel Philippines  and AXN Networks Philippines.Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon and lawyer Jonas Julius Caesar Azura argued in separate petitions that both companies have violated constitutional rules, saying that Fox Philippines and AXN Philippines are 99.99% foreign-owned.The constitution limits the ownership and management of mass media to citizens of the Philippines or entities wholly-owned and managed by locals. As for advertising companies, the law permits 30% foreign ownership-Based on the companies’ Articles of Incorporation, the petitioners noted that Fox Philippines is a “wholly-owned subsidiary of STAR Television Advertising Ltd., a foreign corporation with citizenship in the British Virgin Islands” while AXN Philippines is “a wholly-owned subsidiary of South Asian Regional Investments, Inc., a foreign corporation with citizenship in the United States of America.”Both companies each have five Filipino shareholders with a total book value of P500 apiece. This is equal to a 0.00009526% the total subscribed capital of Fox Philippines and 0.000023492% of AXN Philippines, the petitioners revealed.The petitioners believe that the equity of the Filipino shareholders in the companies is “so laughably insignificant.”“It highlights rather than mitigates the gross unconstitutionality of the issuance by the SEC of the franchises or certificates of registration despite the clear failure of the latter to comply with the pertinent requirements of the Constitution and the laws of this country,” they added.Local Cable industry protestsThis is not the first time the two foreign cable television giants came under local fire for alleged violations. In January, the Philippine Cable Television Association Inc. (PCTA), asked for government intervention in what the group claimed was “wholesale violation of the Constitution.”“One only needs to turn on his/her cable television to see that both Fox and AXN – foreign companies by any definition – have somehow been able to provide programming content locally while engaging in advertising activities – both expressly prohibited by Philippine laws,” said PCTA President Leo Wong, in a statement.“Still, and undeniably to the detriment of local mass media and advertising industries, these foreign giants have been able to marginalize local industries with impunity for the longest time,” added Wong.Fox Philippines and AXN Philippines have yet to comment on the issue.