Every time the press is attacked, the whole nation is put at stake.
Last night, at 7:52 pm, ABS-CBN signed off for the first time since September 21, 1972.
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued on May 5 a cease-and-desist order against the media network “due to the expiration of its congressional franchise,” which called for the immediate halting of its broadcasting operations. The commission also asked the company to explain within ten days why the frequencies assigned to it should not be recalled.
In an online statement, the network noted that the NTC issued the cease-and-desist order despite multiple reassurances and legislative resolutions stating it would be able to continue operating while it renewed its franchise.
Senate Resolution no. 40 expresses the chamber’s view that ABS-CBN Corporation and its subsidiaries should be allowed and granted the provisional authority to continue its operations while they go through the due processes of renewing their franchise. Similarly, the letter sent by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Legislative Franchises, the guidance of the Department of Justice, and the sworn statement of NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba urge the NTC to grant the media giant the same provisional authority to resume operations.
According to the broadcast firm, House Speaker Alan Cayetano also gave them “an assurance that there is no move to shut down the network.”
However, just two days after the celebration of World Press Freedom Day, we witnessed the shutdown of one of the nation’s leading and most far-reaching broadcasting networks.
This decision by the state is yet another blatant attack on the foundational part of democracy that is press freedom. Moreover, it is a betrayal to the station’s more than 11,000 media workers, also frontliners of this crisis, as they become at risk of losing their jobs.
In a time where most Filipinos are grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected more than 9,600 and has killed 637, silencing the media must not be an option. It is through them that we are informed with factual, relevant, and life-saving information which helps us navigate through these trying and uncertain times.
The times we live in make the need for press freedom stronger than ever.
We need a free press to keep us informed that we may be empowered to overcome this crisis and shine a light on poor governance that we may hold powers accountable.
