ABS-CBN seeks TRO vs Willie's show

MANILA, Philippines - Broadcast network ABS-CBN has asked a Quezon City court to issue a temporary restraining order and a writ of preliminary injunction against Willie Revillame to stop the launch of the host’s new show with TV5.

The network asked the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 84 to stop the host from doing work similar to the one under the agreement he had signed with his estranged former mother network.

Revillame, former host of the defunct noontime show “Wowowee,” has been reported to soon launch the game show titled “Willing-Willie” on TV5.

According to ABS-CBN, Revillame is bound to comply with his current obligations under the agreement he had signed with the former. The network cited that the host had already entered into a new contract with TV5 despite the fact that the court has yet to rule on Revillame’s plea for a judicial confirmation of his decision to rescind the contract.

“Revillame is creating and is poised to perform work that is similar to that which he performed for defendant ABS-CBN in gross violation of his agreement with the latter,” the network’s petition said.

Status quo

“This motion seeks to maintain the status quo by prohibiting and/or enjoining plaintiff Willie B. Revillame from doing any act that has caused and/or is continuing to cause a violation of his agreement with defendant ABS-CBN,” it stated.

ABS-CBN Corporate Communication head Bong Osorio said the network was left with no choice but to ask the courts to intervene when Revillame purportedly chose to ignore his contract with ABS-CBN.

“The issue on Willie Revillame is all about honoring a contract. To ABS-CBN, it is not only the ethical and right thing to do. It is a noble act of a person or a company that values honesty and integrity. These values are reflected in the way we do business in ABS-CBN.  We honor what we say and we expect our people, talents and partners to reciprocate the trust and honor we give them,” Osorio said in a statement.

Revillame had told the court that ABS-CBN forced him to rescind his contract due to his suspension without pay, the alleged unilateral cancellation of “Wowowee” and the downgrading of his program from three hours daily to just one hour weekly, among others. His camp filed the case, saying the network wanted to tie him down to the contract until its expiration in September 2011.

But ABS-CBN said the host violated the behavioral provisions of his contract when he threatened the ABS-CBN management with a resignation if management did not fire Jobert Sucaldito over the showbiz scribe’s tirades against him.