“We call on the community of independent Filipino journalists and on all Filipinos who cherish democracy and liberty to stand together and resist this government’s brazen assault on freedom of the press and of expression, said the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) in its statement.
NUJP along with employees and supporters held a lightning rally outside ABS-CBN’s Sgt. Esguerra Gate and lit candles as the network signed off just before 8pm following the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) May 5 cease and desist order.
“[Just] as the independent press survived and triumphed with the people over the Marcos dictatorship, we are certain that we shall do so again, that this regime that has run roughshod over our laws and disregarded our basic rights and liberties will not succeed,” said NUJP.
President Rodrigo Duterte swore that he will “see to it that ABS-CBN will be out” and told ABS-CBN to just sell the company in December 2019, prompting public suspicions that Davao businessman and Duterte campaign funder Dennis Uy is eyeing to buy the network after Uy recently formed his own entertainment and media company. Uy recently denied any intention of buying ABS-CBN. Duterte’s December rants were only two of many he uttered against ABS-CBN since he sat on the presidency in 2016.
“The move is clearly a case of political harassment against a pillar of Philippine democracy that employs thousands of Filipinos whose livelihoods are now at risk with the order,” said the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines in its statement.
On World Press Freedom Day, the government’s lawyer, Solicitor General Jose Calida threatened to sue NTC officials for graft if the latter issued ABS-CBN a provisional authority so the network can operate past the expiration of its franchise on May 4.
“Under pressure from Calida, the NTC decided to subvert congressional tradition, renege on its promise, ignore the DOJ’s legal position. This outrageous conduct is part of the Duterte admin’s war on the media,” said the Consortium on Democracy and Disinformation in its statement.
Calida said the NTC has no power to give ABS-CBN a provisional license.
“Although this legislative power may be delegated to administrative agencies through a law, at present, there is no such law giving the NTC or any other agency the power to grant franchises to broadcasting entities,” said Calida on May 3.
National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers said the Constitution demands that all gaps, doubts, or gray areas in the law that are tangential to basic freedoms must be resolved in favor of these fundamental rights.
“Push back, push back! And hard! This is a preview or trial balloon up to where they can go. Then one morning we might just wake up to full-blown martial rule and to a new abnormal,” said National Union of Peoples’ Lawyer President Atty. Edre Olalia.
The Pampanga Press Club condemned the NTC order’s timing during the pandemic that has seen loss of jobs and hunger.
“Forcing ABS-CBN to sign off to make it comply with NTC’s order is silencing ABS-CBN. And that is making press freedom— and the right of the Filipinos to be informed—an expendable item in this lingering franchise issue,” said the group.
A group of broadcast workers who fought for their regularization for years also expressed concern for 11,000 ABS-CBN workers whose jobs are threatened following the network being forced off the air.
“The Talents Association of GMA Network (TAG) expresses its grave concern over the fate of more than 11,000 regular and contractual workers of ABS-CBN, following the National Telecommunications Commission’s Cease and Desist Order, directing the media network to stop its broadcast operations,” said TAG in a statement.
The group reminded how during a Senate hearing in February, ABS-CBN Head of Corporate Services Group Mark Nepomuceno said the Kapamilya network has 5,918 directly hired employees while the remaining 5,153 include on-cam, talents, and project workers. Nepomuceno also noted that the company shutdown will affect not just ABS-CBN and DZMM shows but also The Filipino Channel, which is shown abroad.
Legislations for ABS-CBN’s 25-year franchise extension was pending before the House of Representatives (HOR) for more than three years; its House Speaker, Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, also Duterte’s running mate in 2016, failed to schedule to tackle the bills before Congress adjourned on March 14. Congress was scheduled to resume sessions only on May 4, the day ABS-CBN’s franchise would expire.
NTC promised Congress on March 10, it will issue ABS-CBN a provisional authority in a hearing set by the HOR only after public pressure for legislators to tackle the pending franchise extension.
A Senate hearing in February, meanwhile, found ABS-CBN did not violate terms in its franchise and it also did not have any liabilities in taxes—something Duterte accused the network in one of his tirades.
The current lockdown in Metro Manila was imposed on March 15 and cancelled any or all other activities of Congress, except a marathon session in late March to grant Duterte additional powers to rechannel at least P257 billion in the national budget to government COVID-19 response among others. Congress has resumed its sessions via hybrid physical and virtual sessions or teleconferencing on May 4.
