UPDATE 1-Philippines seeks scrapping of 'abusive' broadcaster's franchise

* Duterte not behind complaint - spokesman
* ABS-CBN greedy, abusive, govt says
* ABS-CBN says committed no violations
* Court, Congress urged to prove independence

(Recasts, adds ABS-CBN statement, details throughout)
By Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales
MANILA, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The Philippine government on
Monday urged the Supreme Court to cancel the franchises of the
country's top broadcaster, ABS-CBN Corp ABS.PS , a move slammed
by opposition lawmakers and activists as an attack designed to
intimidate independent media.
The government said the 66-year-old entertainment and media
conglomerate, which drew the ire of President Rodrigo Duterte
during his 2016 election campaign, had violated ownership laws
and was involved in "highly abusive practices".
Duterte's opponents said the complaint was timed to deny
Congress the chance to renew the franchise of ABS-CBN, which
employs nearly 7,000 people and engages hundreds of celebrities
in radio, television and online content.
Solicitor-General and staunch Duterte loyalist Jose Calida
said ABS-CBN had for too long shown greed and abuse of what was
a privileged franchise.
"We want to put an end to what we discovered to be highly
abusive practices of ABS-CBN benefiting a greedy few at the
expense of millions of its loyal subscribers", Calida said in a
statement.
ABS-CBN denied that and said the complaint appeared to be
"an effort to shut down ABS-CBN to the serious prejudice of
millions of Filipinos".
Duterte's has threatened for three years to torpedo the
franchise renewal of ABS-CBN, which Duterte accuses of refusing
to air his campaign commercials.
ABS-CBN has not directly responded to Duterte's claims, but
its chairman, Eugenio Lopez said at the company stockholders'
meeting in 2017 that it was "part and parcel of our work being a
media institution".
Lopez also said the company deals with these problems
privately.
The move comes at a time of concerns among some investors
about regulatory unpredictability following a Duterte-ordered
review of government contracts, which included big losses for
two water firms whose billionaire owners Duterte has criticised.
ABS-CBN has lost 65% of its share value since Duterte
assumed office in June 2016. It fell as much as 2.9% on Monday.
In 2018, the government revoked the license of Rappler, a
news website known for its tough scrutiny of Duterte, who called
it a "fake news outlet" sponsored by American spies. Rappler
still operates pending appeal.
Calida said ABS-CBN started a pay-per-view channel without
approval and charges fees not supposed to be levied. He said
that like Rappler, ABS-CBN had breached foreign ownership
restrictions behind an "elaborately crafted corporate veil".
The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines said
the Supreme Court and Congress had the chance to prove they were
independent and not beholden to Duterte.
"We must not allow the vindictiveness of one man, no matter
how powerful, to run roughshod over the constitutionally
guaranteed freedoms of the press and of expression, and the
people's right to know," it said.
Congressman Edcel Lagman said the complaint was "maliciously
timed" while representative Rufus Rodriguez called it an
encroachment on Congress's turf.
Presidential spokesman Savlador Panelo said Duterte
personally had nothing to do with the complaint, and in
criticising ABS-CBN, he was exercising his right to free speech.

(Writing by Karen Lema and Martin Petty; Editing Robert Birsel
and Lincoln Feast.)