There’s no way that Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano could clear himself of the blame on the shutdown of ABS-CBN amid the National Telecommunications Commission’s (NTC) cease and desist order, an opposition solon said Friday.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman made the remark after Cayetano broke his silence and slammed the “sudden flip-flopping” of the NTC and the “unconstitutional meddling” by Solicitor General Jose Calida on the regulatory body’s grant of provisional authority to operate to ABS-CBN, pending the approval of its franchise by congress.
In his first statement since the shutdown, Cayetano said that Congress “has no choice but to once again rise to the occasion and fix the mess others make.”
But Lagman was quick to call out the House leader, saying it was his inaction on the pending franchise renewal bills that had created the mess.
“It is utterly pretentious for Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano to say that the passage of the franchise renewal will now be prioritized in order to ‘fix the mess’ which others made… Cayetano must not wash his hands and absolve himself of blame at the expense of others,” said Lagman in a statement.
“Cayetano himself made the mess by blindly kowtowing to President Rodrigo Duterte’s repeated personal opposition to the renewal which unduly stalled the approval of the extension,” he added.
Lagman has been vocal with his stand that House should take the blame for ABS-CBN’s shutdown.
At one point, Lagman even said the NTC should not be used as a “scapegoat” for the failure of the House leadership to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise.
“Moreover, Cayetano cited his own personal grievances against ABS-CBN to justify his temporizing on the consideration of the 12 pending bills (including for ABS-CBN Convergence Inc.) for renewal,” Lagman said.
“Cayetano must not wash his hands and absolve himself of blame at the expense of others. Admitting one’s fault is an earmark of true leadership,” the lawmaker added.
Despite this, Lagman said that the leadership of the lower chamber can still redeem itself by fast-tracking the approval of ABS-CBN’s franchise.
“The leadership of the House of Representatives can redeem itself of its culpability in the ABS-CBN franchise fiasco by immediately fast-tracking the renewal of the giant network’s franchise,” Lagman said.
ABS-CBN has asked the Supreme Court to temporarily stop the implementation of the cease and desist order issued by the NTC which directed the network to stop its broadcast operations.
But if Congress will immediately approve ABS-CBN’s bid for a franchise renewal, this petition will just be moot, said Lagman.
“A swift congressional action extending ABS-CBN’s franchise for another 25 years will render moot and academic the network’s petition before the Supreme Court to revoke the cease and desist order (CDO) issued by the National Telecommunications Commission on May 5, 2020, which ABS-CBN complied with on the same day,” Lagman said.
“The renewal of the franchise will also foreclose the need for the High Court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against NTC’s CDO so that the network can resume operations even as such franchise renewal will quash the controversial CDO,” he added.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1271798/fwd-lagman-cayetano-must-not-wash-his-hands-and-absolve-himself-of-blame-at-others-expense
Friday, May 8, 2020
Grant of franchise is not ministerial
The grant of franchise to corporations is not something owners can demand. Franchise presupposes that corporations are public utilities often referred to as public-service corporations much that they provide essential services such as electricity, telephone service, telecommunications, natural gas, water or postal services. They are regulated because they embody public interest.
This explains why franchise is not a right owners can demand synonymous to property right but a privileged that can be granted or withheld by reason of public safety, security and public order. Equivocally, without a franchise, such corporations cannot operate.
The problem with ABS-CBN is to this day it has not detached itself from its involvement in politics. Often the company’s political inclination is dependent on the attitude of the owners as former caciques that enjoyed the status of "sugar baron" brought about by the creation of big sugar plantations during the colonial economic period.
Despite the withering of this exclusive class in 1974, they insist in perpetuating their economic dominance amidst the rumblings in Philippine politics. The Lopezes to this day still hallucinate they control and dictate the political destiny of this nation.
Their latest foray was when they swindled Duterte the amount he paid for his political advertisement in the 2016 campaign. The owners probably wanted to hit Digong twice by swindling him and by humiliating him to make sure he loses in the election.
They gravely committed an incalculable mistake. Duterte won and that complicated their problem. It was reminiscent of their support for Marcos to pin down Macapagal for devaluating the currency that caused their loan to bloat. Today Digong may not have the character of an Ilocano but has the memory of an elephant one could not easily forget.
Their predicament became complicated because they dared to cross his path believing that what they did was a trivial matter. They took the issue of renewal of franchise as something they could easily manage. Instead of examining the problem and making an open apology to the President, the Lopezes relied on their usual high and mighty attitude of leaving it to their lawyers, confident that things will ultimately be resolved their own way.
Up to now still they nurture the same delusion of being the top political kingmaker with the old man even boasting that nobody sits in Malacanang without his blessing. It is this shameless clan that is today daring the President to close their business; that when the bell finally tolled on them they could not believe it that the National Telecommunications Commission would issue a cease and desist order or closure order, in short.
ABS-CBN could not believe their stable of politicians loyal to them could be outwitted by Jose Calida. Their battery of lawyers, as usual, were banking on the petition for quo warranto have it dribble in court that by the circumstance of “force majeure” compel it to issue a temporary or provisional franchise until the court finally decides for or against the renewal of franchise, and from there they could deny Congress of its right under to issue franchise under Section 11, Article 11 of the Constitution arguing as usual that the Court have already acquired jurisdiction over the case.
But Calida was fully aware that by May 4, the franchise of the Station would expire, and the case he filed which listed the numerous violations of the franchise would automatically become functus oficio, meaning there is nothing more to be remove, the franchise having ceased to exist in fact and in law. ABS-CBN was not only startled but is now completely at a loss. I cannot now operate because it does not have a franchise or can it blame NTC NTC for doing its duty to issue cease and desist order. On top of it the Lopezes cannot go to court for the issuance of temporary restraining order, as suggested by retired Justice Antonio Carpio, for the simple reason the petition was not decided by the court by due to its own negligence in allowing the franchise to expire.
ABS-CBN cannot even now rely on its usual supporters they hope to exploit in the event of a showdown with the administration. At most, ABS-CBN can only blame Congress for sitting on its application for renewal since 2014. But is a complicated issue. They cannot even blame the membership of the present Congress but on the former President and the former speaker Feliciano Belmonte which the general public thought to ardent fans of ABS-CBN. This is the point that caused the franchise to be stalled, and the station would not openly admit this fact for that could equivocally absolve the President from being blamed for the fiasco but upon themselves why the franchise expired by operation of law.
Renewing the franchise of ABS-CBN would not solve the problem endemic to the administration. The owners have always resorted to influence peddling to exact huge financial favors from the government.
The Lopez clan entertains the illusion that Duterte does not have the nerve to close ABS-CBN. They could not even decipher that the President just want to collect the P6.5 billion that remains unpaid. It is this attitude of acting as carpetbaggers, treating government-owned corporations as acquired by them in a fire sale, and often on installment basis that irked the President so much.
What if the Duterte government decides to sell ABS-CBN? Would its disposition not put to an end the agony of the government in kowtowing to a corporation that could hardly pay its debt while continually slandering it? Can the owner prohibit the government from disposing that property and concoct their alibi it was confiscated from them? Can the Duterte government not sell the properties of his political enemies for unpaid loan?
Of course, some skunk lawyers would always say, a buyer allowed to operate ABS-CBN is a buyer in bad faith. But between those buyers in good faith against one who has been delinquent in his payment, which between the two now stand to have acted in bad faith? A buyer in good faith in this situation can also pay in full the arrears of the corporation. The owners cannot claim their right as franchisee because the sale is likely to take place after the franchise has expired.
First, the government can immediately recover the long overdue account upon payment by the buyer. The fund is much needed now because of the pandemic. The Lopezes can no longer cling on to a franchise that no longer exists.
Second, the sale of ABS-CBN will finally resolve the bogus democracy the Lopezes have been dangling to the Filipino people. The oligarch that owns and controls the station made a mockery of our democracy. They often drumbeat freedom of the press but in truth is used to bullshit the government.
Third, they contribute to retard public opinion and as cover to advance their economic and political interest. Their ownership of the biggest private radio and television station does not speak of the truth. Rather, they usurp that right to mislead our people.
Fourth, ABS-CBN has become the secondary and alternate news outlet for CNN, Voice of America, Fox News and BBC using local stations, channel and frequency to make them more powerful than the one operated by our government.
Fifth, ABS-CBN together with those foreign media organizations does not only compete with the government radio and television stations like PBS, but openly gang up on the government branding the state media as brazenly corrupt and human rights violator.
Sixth, ABS-CBN often coordinates with foreign media on issues to place the government on the defensive. If the subject is between the government and the communist rebels, ABS-CBN in collaboration with foreign media in pursuit of their country’s national interest unite against the government. Our people are confused for it seems ABS-CBN and the foreign media find themselves one in defending those identified as enemies of the state with a wider leeway to hide behind the cloak press freedom or in upholding human rights.
Seventh, the sale of ABS-CBN is proper. The Lopezes cannot claim the value of the franchise or good will to jack up their price because the business already ceased to exist. The seller could only sell the property after deducting the amount due to the government.
Eighth, the government did not sequester the property like what the defunct PCGG did but as unpaid creditor having acquired the right to sell the property with the right to collect the balance.
Ninth, the buyer could operate the station after a new franchise is granted with the promise to rehire all the employees of the old station.
Because of the prosaic interpretation of freedom, our local media can freely coagulate other foreign media organizations resulting in our inability to determine what is truly democratic and what truly represents our people’s interest.
rpkapunan@gmail.com
This explains why franchise is not a right owners can demand synonymous to property right but a privileged that can be granted or withheld by reason of public safety, security and public order. Equivocally, without a franchise, such corporations cannot operate.
The problem with ABS-CBN is to this day it has not detached itself from its involvement in politics. Often the company’s political inclination is dependent on the attitude of the owners as former caciques that enjoyed the status of "sugar baron" brought about by the creation of big sugar plantations during the colonial economic period.
Despite the withering of this exclusive class in 1974, they insist in perpetuating their economic dominance amidst the rumblings in Philippine politics. The Lopezes to this day still hallucinate they control and dictate the political destiny of this nation.
Their latest foray was when they swindled Duterte the amount he paid for his political advertisement in the 2016 campaign. The owners probably wanted to hit Digong twice by swindling him and by humiliating him to make sure he loses in the election.
They gravely committed an incalculable mistake. Duterte won and that complicated their problem. It was reminiscent of their support for Marcos to pin down Macapagal for devaluating the currency that caused their loan to bloat. Today Digong may not have the character of an Ilocano but has the memory of an elephant one could not easily forget.
Their predicament became complicated because they dared to cross his path believing that what they did was a trivial matter. They took the issue of renewal of franchise as something they could easily manage. Instead of examining the problem and making an open apology to the President, the Lopezes relied on their usual high and mighty attitude of leaving it to their lawyers, confident that things will ultimately be resolved their own way.
Up to now still they nurture the same delusion of being the top political kingmaker with the old man even boasting that nobody sits in Malacanang without his blessing. It is this shameless clan that is today daring the President to close their business; that when the bell finally tolled on them they could not believe it that the National Telecommunications Commission would issue a cease and desist order or closure order, in short.
ABS-CBN could not believe their stable of politicians loyal to them could be outwitted by Jose Calida. Their battery of lawyers, as usual, were banking on the petition for quo warranto have it dribble in court that by the circumstance of “force majeure” compel it to issue a temporary or provisional franchise until the court finally decides for or against the renewal of franchise, and from there they could deny Congress of its right under to issue franchise under Section 11, Article 11 of the Constitution arguing as usual that the Court have already acquired jurisdiction over the case.
But Calida was fully aware that by May 4, the franchise of the Station would expire, and the case he filed which listed the numerous violations of the franchise would automatically become functus oficio, meaning there is nothing more to be remove, the franchise having ceased to exist in fact and in law. ABS-CBN was not only startled but is now completely at a loss. I cannot now operate because it does not have a franchise or can it blame NTC NTC for doing its duty to issue cease and desist order. On top of it the Lopezes cannot go to court for the issuance of temporary restraining order, as suggested by retired Justice Antonio Carpio, for the simple reason the petition was not decided by the court by due to its own negligence in allowing the franchise to expire.
ABS-CBN cannot even now rely on its usual supporters they hope to exploit in the event of a showdown with the administration. At most, ABS-CBN can only blame Congress for sitting on its application for renewal since 2014. But is a complicated issue. They cannot even blame the membership of the present Congress but on the former President and the former speaker Feliciano Belmonte which the general public thought to ardent fans of ABS-CBN. This is the point that caused the franchise to be stalled, and the station would not openly admit this fact for that could equivocally absolve the President from being blamed for the fiasco but upon themselves why the franchise expired by operation of law.
Renewing the franchise of ABS-CBN would not solve the problem endemic to the administration. The owners have always resorted to influence peddling to exact huge financial favors from the government.
The Lopez clan entertains the illusion that Duterte does not have the nerve to close ABS-CBN. They could not even decipher that the President just want to collect the P6.5 billion that remains unpaid. It is this attitude of acting as carpetbaggers, treating government-owned corporations as acquired by them in a fire sale, and often on installment basis that irked the President so much.
What if the Duterte government decides to sell ABS-CBN? Would its disposition not put to an end the agony of the government in kowtowing to a corporation that could hardly pay its debt while continually slandering it? Can the owner prohibit the government from disposing that property and concoct their alibi it was confiscated from them? Can the Duterte government not sell the properties of his political enemies for unpaid loan?
Of course, some skunk lawyers would always say, a buyer allowed to operate ABS-CBN is a buyer in bad faith. But between those buyers in good faith against one who has been delinquent in his payment, which between the two now stand to have acted in bad faith? A buyer in good faith in this situation can also pay in full the arrears of the corporation. The owners cannot claim their right as franchisee because the sale is likely to take place after the franchise has expired.
First, the government can immediately recover the long overdue account upon payment by the buyer. The fund is much needed now because of the pandemic. The Lopezes can no longer cling on to a franchise that no longer exists.
Second, the sale of ABS-CBN will finally resolve the bogus democracy the Lopezes have been dangling to the Filipino people. The oligarch that owns and controls the station made a mockery of our democracy. They often drumbeat freedom of the press but in truth is used to bullshit the government.
Third, they contribute to retard public opinion and as cover to advance their economic and political interest. Their ownership of the biggest private radio and television station does not speak of the truth. Rather, they usurp that right to mislead our people.
Fourth, ABS-CBN has become the secondary and alternate news outlet for CNN, Voice of America, Fox News and BBC using local stations, channel and frequency to make them more powerful than the one operated by our government.
Fifth, ABS-CBN together with those foreign media organizations does not only compete with the government radio and television stations like PBS, but openly gang up on the government branding the state media as brazenly corrupt and human rights violator.
Sixth, ABS-CBN often coordinates with foreign media on issues to place the government on the defensive. If the subject is between the government and the communist rebels, ABS-CBN in collaboration with foreign media in pursuit of their country’s national interest unite against the government. Our people are confused for it seems ABS-CBN and the foreign media find themselves one in defending those identified as enemies of the state with a wider leeway to hide behind the cloak press freedom or in upholding human rights.
Seventh, the sale of ABS-CBN is proper. The Lopezes cannot claim the value of the franchise or good will to jack up their price because the business already ceased to exist. The seller could only sell the property after deducting the amount due to the government.
Eighth, the government did not sequester the property like what the defunct PCGG did but as unpaid creditor having acquired the right to sell the property with the right to collect the balance.
Ninth, the buyer could operate the station after a new franchise is granted with the promise to rehire all the employees of the old station.
Because of the prosaic interpretation of freedom, our local media can freely coagulate other foreign media organizations resulting in our inability to determine what is truly democratic and what truly represents our people’s interest.
rpkapunan@gmail.com
Binibining Pilipinas, beauty queens condemn ABS-CBN shutdown
Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) expressed dismay over the recent signing-off of the Philippines' biggest TV network, ABS-CBN, following the National Telecommunications Commission's (NTC) cease and desist order.
In a statement sent to Philstar.com, BPCI said the pageant organizer and ABS-CBN "have been valuable partners for many years. The Kapamilya network is instrumental in echoing our mission to promote peace and love across the nation, and has helped provide a platform that allows us to provide young Filipinas the opportunity to be carriers our our message."
"We express our support to our Kapamilyas affected by the network's closure and hope that this issue will be resolved soon," BPCI concluded its statement also posted on its official Facebook page.
BPCI aired its Binibining Pilipinas beauty pageant in recent years on ABS-CBN.
Due to the enhanced community quarantine, this year's coronation night is still on hold, but the 40 official candidates continue to participate in online pre-pageant activities such as the recent makeup challenge.
Meanwhile, Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray and Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, who were crowned as Miss Universe Philippines when the pageant was still under BPCI, also showed support for the TV network where they signed up as contract artists.
"As we face this global pandemic as a nation, fast and accessible information is key to saving lives. By silencing voices we’re doing a disservice to our countrymen who need it most. At a time in our history when we should be remembered for how we all came together to serve each other. When we look back, what will be remembered instead? #NoToABSCBNShutdown," Catriona said in her post.
"ABSCBN holds a dear place in my heart. I spent most of my teenage years in the halls of ABSCBN, attending workshops, doing rehearsals, tapings and even attending classes (They had a high school a few years back and I graduated there) ABSCBN was a home for me. It is also home to 11,000 employees and is in the homes of almost every Filipino family," Pia said in an Instagram post.
"To my ABSCBN family, I stand by you. I am still hopeful that all of this is just a challenge. Maayos rin ang lahat," she assured her home network.
Thursday, May 7, 2020
Defining ‘dura lex, sed lex’ in the context of ABS-CBN shutdown
The Latin phrase and legal term “dura lex, sed lex,” which translates to “it is harsh, but it is the law,” was used by some Filipinos who expressed support for the move to close broadcast giant ABS-CBN online.
They cited the network’s supposed violations.
This phrase trended on local social media after ABS-CBN went off the air on Tuesday evening in compliance with the cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission.
Bills to renew or extend the network’s franchise remain pending in the 18th Congress.
Calls to protect press freedom and dissent against the shutdown of the country’s largest broadcasting company dominated the Philippines trend list on Twitter on Tuesday evening.
Amid the criticisms against the NTC’s move, some Filipinos also praised the commission for its decision. The Latin phrase “dura lex, sed lex” and the hashtag #YestoABSCBNShutdown were mentioned on their posts.
Several lawyers expressed took to Twitter to define this phrase and interpret in using the ABS-CBN’s case as context.
In his tweet, Associate Justice Marvic Leonen argued the blurry line between legality and justice.
“Dura lex sed lex is not an invocation to uncritically accept an unjust act. A lawful grant of power to a person/entity doesn’t guarantee that it is always wisely used,” Leonen said on Twitter.
“At times, what is called legal may not be just. Our collective duty is to make sure the legal will also be just,” he added.
Human rights lawyer Roselle Tugade likewise said that the practice of law should be more than just invoking it.
“Law that’s calcified on ‘what is’, to the detriment of the people, is law that betrays the spirit of freedom. Law ought to be more,” Tugade said.
Another lawyer, Gideon Peña, stressed that “the people can change laws.”
Twitter page Law Students of Manila, meanwhile, suggested that the Latin phrase that should used in ABS-CBN’s case is “Salus Populi Est Suprema Lex,” which translates to “let the welfare of the people be the supreme law.”
How it started
The sudden resurface of the Latin phrase “dura lex, sed lex” among non-lawyers may have started after presidential spokesperson Harry Roque mentioned it in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), a separate entity not covered by a cease-and-desist order.
Right after ABS-CBN’s early sign-off ceremony, Roque said he was instructed by President Rodrigo Duterte to extend his gratitude to the broadcast giant.
“He has said that I should thank ABS-CBN for all the help that ABS-CBN has, in fact, extended. I was even under the instruction to enumerate the many things that ABS-CBN has done in connection with COVID-19,” Roque said.
Roque then said that Duterte, who was keen on shutting down the network, is a lawyer who must uphold the law even if he could have done “something” to prevent the closure.
“And that is why if he could, he probably would have done something for ABS-CBN franchise, but the President is a lawyer. But the law may be harsh, as we said earlier, dura lex sed lex (The law may be harsh, but it is the law),” Roque said.
The NTC in a separate interview similarly defended the issuance of closure order, citing that it just upheld the law.
“Whether it was harsh or not, it is still the law,” NTC Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said in an interview with CNN Philippines.
“We have studied very carefully the issues behind. And we do not have any other option…If there are other options perhaps that is pursuant to other existing laws, baka yun po ang sinunod,” he added.
Selective justice?
Critics of the administration earlier argued that the justice system in the country is selective, citing quarantine violators public official Mocha Uson and Sen. Koko Pimentel who were not reprimanded for their violations.
Uson, deputy administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, convened overseas Filipino workers at a resort in Batangas despite the strict prohibition against any social gathering under quarantine rules.
OWWA Administrator Hans Cacdac, however, defended Uson and said that OWWA will investigate it after the health crisis ends.
Pimentel also violated the quarantine protocols of a private hospital after he accompanied his wife despite having tested for the highly communicable disease. The Makati Medical Center management said he endangered the health workers, other medical personnel and patients when he visited the hospital
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that his department will observe “compassion” for the lawmaker.
Moreover, the national government also gave the Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) green light to reopen despite alleged crimes involving their Chinese operators and amid the enhanced community quarantine that bans onsite work.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who opposes the resumption of POGOs’ operations, compared their case to that of ABS-CBN. She cited that the network’s shutdown affects thousands of employees.
“Sa panahong napakahalagang maihatid ang mga impormasyon na dapat malaman ng publiko tungkol sa COVID-19 at sa mga programang makatutulong sa kanila,” the senator said.
“Samantalang ang mga POGO pilit binuksan kahit na hindi naman ‘essential’ industry, bilyong-bilyong tax ang hindi pa binabayaran, at nasa gitna ng maraming krimen,” she added.
https://www.interaksyon.com/trends-spotlights/2020/05/07/167978/defining-dura-lex-sed-lex-in-the-context-of-abs-cbns-shutdown/
They cited the network’s supposed violations.
This phrase trended on local social media after ABS-CBN went off the air on Tuesday evening in compliance with the cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission.
Bills to renew or extend the network’s franchise remain pending in the 18th Congress.
Calls to protect press freedom and dissent against the shutdown of the country’s largest broadcasting company dominated the Philippines trend list on Twitter on Tuesday evening.
Amid the criticisms against the NTC’s move, some Filipinos also praised the commission for its decision. The Latin phrase “dura lex, sed lex” and the hashtag #YestoABSCBNShutdown were mentioned on their posts.
Several lawyers expressed took to Twitter to define this phrase and interpret in using the ABS-CBN’s case as context.
In his tweet, Associate Justice Marvic Leonen argued the blurry line between legality and justice.
“Dura lex sed lex is not an invocation to uncritically accept an unjust act. A lawful grant of power to a person/entity doesn’t guarantee that it is always wisely used,” Leonen said on Twitter.
“At times, what is called legal may not be just. Our collective duty is to make sure the legal will also be just,” he added.
Human rights lawyer Roselle Tugade likewise said that the practice of law should be more than just invoking it.
“Law that’s calcified on ‘what is’, to the detriment of the people, is law that betrays the spirit of freedom. Law ought to be more,” Tugade said.
Another lawyer, Gideon Peña, stressed that “the people can change laws.”
Twitter page Law Students of Manila, meanwhile, suggested that the Latin phrase that should used in ABS-CBN’s case is “Salus Populi Est Suprema Lex,” which translates to “let the welfare of the people be the supreme law.”
How it started
The sudden resurface of the Latin phrase “dura lex, sed lex” among non-lawyers may have started after presidential spokesperson Harry Roque mentioned it in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), a separate entity not covered by a cease-and-desist order.
Right after ABS-CBN’s early sign-off ceremony, Roque said he was instructed by President Rodrigo Duterte to extend his gratitude to the broadcast giant.
“He has said that I should thank ABS-CBN for all the help that ABS-CBN has, in fact, extended. I was even under the instruction to enumerate the many things that ABS-CBN has done in connection with COVID-19,” Roque said.
Roque then said that Duterte, who was keen on shutting down the network, is a lawyer who must uphold the law even if he could have done “something” to prevent the closure.
“And that is why if he could, he probably would have done something for ABS-CBN franchise, but the President is a lawyer. But the law may be harsh, as we said earlier, dura lex sed lex (The law may be harsh, but it is the law),” Roque said.
The NTC in a separate interview similarly defended the issuance of closure order, citing that it just upheld the law.
“Whether it was harsh or not, it is still the law,” NTC Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said in an interview with CNN Philippines.
“We have studied very carefully the issues behind. And we do not have any other option…If there are other options perhaps that is pursuant to other existing laws, baka yun po ang sinunod,” he added.
Selective justice?
Critics of the administration earlier argued that the justice system in the country is selective, citing quarantine violators public official Mocha Uson and Sen. Koko Pimentel who were not reprimanded for their violations.
Uson, deputy administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, convened overseas Filipino workers at a resort in Batangas despite the strict prohibition against any social gathering under quarantine rules.
OWWA Administrator Hans Cacdac, however, defended Uson and said that OWWA will investigate it after the health crisis ends.
Pimentel also violated the quarantine protocols of a private hospital after he accompanied his wife despite having tested for the highly communicable disease. The Makati Medical Center management said he endangered the health workers, other medical personnel and patients when he visited the hospital
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that his department will observe “compassion” for the lawmaker.
Moreover, the national government also gave the Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) green light to reopen despite alleged crimes involving their Chinese operators and amid the enhanced community quarantine that bans onsite work.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who opposes the resumption of POGOs’ operations, compared their case to that of ABS-CBN. She cited that the network’s shutdown affects thousands of employees.
“Sa panahong napakahalagang maihatid ang mga impormasyon na dapat malaman ng publiko tungkol sa COVID-19 at sa mga programang makatutulong sa kanila,” the senator said.
“Samantalang ang mga POGO pilit binuksan kahit na hindi naman ‘essential’ industry, bilyong-bilyong tax ang hindi pa binabayaran, at nasa gitna ng maraming krimen,” she added.
https://www.interaksyon.com/trends-spotlights/2020/05/07/167978/defining-dura-lex-sed-lex-in-the-context-of-abs-cbns-shutdown/
ABS-CBN asks Supreme Court to stop, junk NTC’s shutdown order
ABS-CBN has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to stop and then nullify the cease and desist order that forced the media giant to go off the air for the first time since the Martial Law era.
In a petition for certiorari and prohibition, ABS-CBN asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order against the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) directive that led to a signoff Tuesday evening, the day after the company's franchise expired.
The petition asks the highest Philippine court to nullify and set aside the cease and desist order, arguing that the NTC acted with grave abuse of discretion and violated ABS-CBN's rights to equal protection of the law and to due process, as well as the public's right to information.
"Our main argument is premised on due process and equal protection and the patent illegality of the cease and desist order," Michelle Go, a lawyer for ABS-CBN, told GMA News.
"It was issued without due process and in violation of past NTC practice na hindi naman isinasara ang mga broadcasting stations while their franchise applications are pending before Congress."
The NTC on Tuesday ordered ABS-CBN to cease the operations of several of its radio and television stations purportedly because of the company's lack of a valid franchise from Congress. Its franchise renewal bills have been pending for years.
The commission ordered the shutdown despite saying last March that it will follow the advice of the Department of Justice, which said, and has maintained, that there is sufficient basis to allow broadcast entities to operate pending congressional action on their application for renewal.
"We're also saying that Congress has already expressed its desire na bigyan sila ng panahon para madinig at makapag-deliberate on the franchise bills and we think that they should be given the chance to do so since the power to grant a franchise is exclusively lodged with Congress," Go added.
In its 46-page petition, ABS-CBN argued that Congress, which has the power to grant franchises, also has the authority to determine the company's rights and obligations until it has decided whether or not to renew the network's franchise.
ABS-CBN cited the House franchise committee's letter enjoining the NTC to give the company a provisional authority to operate beyond the expiration of its franchise on May 4, as well as the Senate resolution in which the chamber "expressed its sense" that ABS-CBN should be allowed to operate.
"Instead of issuing a CDO, the NTC should have deferred to Congress and allowed ABS-CBN to continue operating its television and radio stations," the company said.
ABS-CBN further claimed that the cease and desist order "deviated" from the NTC's "past practice" of allowing entities to operate despite the expiry of their franchise. "There is no reason why the same practice should not be applied to ABS-CBN," it said.
It also argued that the order was issued without notice and hearing, to the detriment of the company's more than 11,000 employees.
"The CDO also violates the right of the public to information and is necessarily a curtailment of the freedom of speech and of the press. Strong public interest and equity demand that ABS-CBN be allowed to continue its operation," ABS-CBN said.
The NTC issued the order two days after Solicitor General Jose Calida warned its commissioners that they could face graft charges should they provisionally allow ABS-CBN to continue operating.
The Office of the Solicitor General is the statutory counsel of government agencies.
An NTC official later denied that Calida's warning had anything to do with the commission's decision to issue the CDO.
Malacañang has defended both Calida and the NTC. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Calida did not influence the commission, and that NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba could not be dictated upon.
ABS-CBN pointed out Calida's "threat" in questioning the NTC's impartiality.
"The NTC thus issued the CDO with a threat hanging over its head, made no less by the government's own lawyer, of prosecution for graft/corruption. Under such climate, the NTC's impartiality is at best seriously suspect," the company said.
Earlier this year, Calida filed a quo warranto case against the network—a petition to forfeit its franchise, which remains pending before the SC. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he believes the case may now be moot because the franchise in question has expired.
ABS-CBN also said in its petition that the quo warranto case is now moot and academic.
Calida has hailed the NTC order as a "triumph of the rule of law." He said the commission should not be blamed, instead asking why ABS-CBN's franchise renewal bills have languished in Congress. — BM, GMA News
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/737256/abs-cbn-asks-supreme-court-to-stop-junk-ntc-s-shutdown-order/story/
In a petition for certiorari and prohibition, ABS-CBN asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order against the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) directive that led to a signoff Tuesday evening, the day after the company's franchise expired.
The petition asks the highest Philippine court to nullify and set aside the cease and desist order, arguing that the NTC acted with grave abuse of discretion and violated ABS-CBN's rights to equal protection of the law and to due process, as well as the public's right to information.
"Our main argument is premised on due process and equal protection and the patent illegality of the cease and desist order," Michelle Go, a lawyer for ABS-CBN, told GMA News.
"It was issued without due process and in violation of past NTC practice na hindi naman isinasara ang mga broadcasting stations while their franchise applications are pending before Congress."
The NTC on Tuesday ordered ABS-CBN to cease the operations of several of its radio and television stations purportedly because of the company's lack of a valid franchise from Congress. Its franchise renewal bills have been pending for years.
The commission ordered the shutdown despite saying last March that it will follow the advice of the Department of Justice, which said, and has maintained, that there is sufficient basis to allow broadcast entities to operate pending congressional action on their application for renewal.
"We're also saying that Congress has already expressed its desire na bigyan sila ng panahon para madinig at makapag-deliberate on the franchise bills and we think that they should be given the chance to do so since the power to grant a franchise is exclusively lodged with Congress," Go added.
In its 46-page petition, ABS-CBN argued that Congress, which has the power to grant franchises, also has the authority to determine the company's rights and obligations until it has decided whether or not to renew the network's franchise.
ABS-CBN cited the House franchise committee's letter enjoining the NTC to give the company a provisional authority to operate beyond the expiration of its franchise on May 4, as well as the Senate resolution in which the chamber "expressed its sense" that ABS-CBN should be allowed to operate.
"Instead of issuing a CDO, the NTC should have deferred to Congress and allowed ABS-CBN to continue operating its television and radio stations," the company said.
ABS-CBN further claimed that the cease and desist order "deviated" from the NTC's "past practice" of allowing entities to operate despite the expiry of their franchise. "There is no reason why the same practice should not be applied to ABS-CBN," it said.
It also argued that the order was issued without notice and hearing, to the detriment of the company's more than 11,000 employees.
"The CDO also violates the right of the public to information and is necessarily a curtailment of the freedom of speech and of the press. Strong public interest and equity demand that ABS-CBN be allowed to continue its operation," ABS-CBN said.
The NTC issued the order two days after Solicitor General Jose Calida warned its commissioners that they could face graft charges should they provisionally allow ABS-CBN to continue operating.
The Office of the Solicitor General is the statutory counsel of government agencies.
An NTC official later denied that Calida's warning had anything to do with the commission's decision to issue the CDO.
Malacañang has defended both Calida and the NTC. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Calida did not influence the commission, and that NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba could not be dictated upon.
ABS-CBN pointed out Calida's "threat" in questioning the NTC's impartiality.
"The NTC thus issued the CDO with a threat hanging over its head, made no less by the government's own lawyer, of prosecution for graft/corruption. Under such climate, the NTC's impartiality is at best seriously suspect," the company said.
Earlier this year, Calida filed a quo warranto case against the network—a petition to forfeit its franchise, which remains pending before the SC. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he believes the case may now be moot because the franchise in question has expired.
ABS-CBN also said in its petition that the quo warranto case is now moot and academic.
Calida has hailed the NTC order as a "triumph of the rule of law." He said the commission should not be blamed, instead asking why ABS-CBN's franchise renewal bills have languished in Congress. — BM, GMA News
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/737256/abs-cbn-asks-supreme-court-to-stop-junk-ntc-s-shutdown-order/story/
Factual answers to frequently asked questions on the ABS-CBN shutdown
Here are a few frequently asked questions answered about the circumstances that led to the country's biggest network going off air. BY BAM V. ABELLON
Last Tuesday night, after ABS-CBN's 33-year-old flagship news program TV Patrol signed off, "Lupang Hinirang" played instead of the network's usual lineup of teleseryes. After a closing message from the network, the screen then turns black.
The shut down was in response to the Cease and Desist Order issued by The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) against the corporation after its legislative franchise expired. With this unprecedented move by a government agency on the largest media network in the country, many questions remain unanswered—and many will remain unanswered in the days to come.
In a sea of doubt, here are some facts and frequently asked questions that might add clarity to a disconcerting issue.
Which among ABS-CBN’s businesses were shut down?
The order covers 42 TV stations, including the flagship, Channel 2; Channel 23; 10 digital broadcast channels; 18 FM stations and 5 AM stations, including DZMM and MOR Philippines.
Which among ABS-CBN’s businesses can still operate after the Cease and Desist order?
ABS-CBN’s online subsidiaries, like its news, entertainment, and sports websites, are still accessible. Since the NTC does not cover cable news channels, ANC (ABS-CBN News Channel) will still go on air—and its lifestyle website, ANCX, will continue to provide content. Kapamilyas will still be able to stream their favorite movies and shows on the video streaming application, iWant. The social media accounts of ABS-CBN’s subsidiaries will also be continuously updated. ABS-CBN’s film production arm, Star Cinema, is not part of NTC’s Cease and Desist Order.
Why didn’t ABS-CBN apply for the renewal of their franchise?
Several lawmakers have already authored bills that seek to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise. These include Giorgidi Aggabao (filed in September 2014), Micaela Violago (filed in 2018), and Karlo and Jericho Nograles (filed in 2018).
All bills remain pending with Congress.
What is the issue behind the complaint against ABS-CBN for operating the TV Plus digital TV box?
The Federation of International Cable TV Associations of the Philippines (FICTAP) called on NTC to impose fines and penalties against ABS-CBN for operating TV Plus, which provides owners 11 free channels, 2 movie channels, and the Kapamilya Box Office (KBO), a pay-per-view service. According to FITCAP’s Estrellita Juliano-Tamano, the black box is unlicensed, and ABS-CBN is not allowed to profit from pay-per-view fees. She also said that the TV Plus caused members of their organization to lose their businesses.
KBO is one of the products mentioned by Solicitor General Jose Calida as one of ABS-CBN’s violations.
However, in a February 24 Senate hearing, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that when ABS-CBN was granted its franchise under Republic Act No. 7966, the franchise allowed them to “construct, operate and maintain, for commercial purposes… television and radio broadcasting corporations in and throughout the Philippines.” The words “commercial purposes,” according to Guevarra was “broad enough” to encompass the pay-per-view services.
ABS-CBN launched its digital TV service of digital terrestrial television (DTT) service in 2015, two months after NTC, led by commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba, set the guidelines on shifting from analog to digital TV.
Should ABS-CBN apply for a franchise for each of their new channels, like Sports and Action, etc.?
No. ABS-CBN is using only one frequency, which can accommodate multiple channels. In fact, this is a more efficient way of using frequency. When ABS-CBN was granted its franchise, it was assigned one frequency.
Did ABS-CBN violate the law when it charged users PHP2,500 for the pay-per-view braodcast of the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight (May 2015), to which NTC issued a cease and desist order?
Justice Secretary Guevarra had expressed his opinion in the February 24 Senate hearing: “We find it clear enough that broadcast companies can engage in Conditional Access (CA) or Conditional Access System (CAS) and, for the same reason can offer TV pay-per-view services…There is nothing in said provisions that would give any impression that ‘commercial purposes’ are limited only to income derived by TV broadcast companies from paid advertisements.”
Is ABS-CBN paying their taxes?
In a February 24 Senate hearing, Simplicio Cabantac, Jr., head of Large Tax Payers Audit Division 3 of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), said that ABS-CBN has paid PHP14,398,464,316.66 in taxes, from 2016-2019. “As far as ABS-CBN account is concerned, they are regularly filing and paying their taxes for the past number of years,” Cabantac added.
In the same hearing, Ephyro Luis Amatong, supervising commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said he is “not aware of any violation or any ongoing complaint or investigation involving ABS-CBN.”
Weren’t they allowed to operate past May 4?
In March, NTC said that they would issue a provisional authority to allow ABS-CBN and its businesses to operate at least until June 2022.
Furthermore, on March 16, NTC signed a memo stating, “All subsisting permits, permits necessary to operate and maintain broadcast and pay TV facilities nationwide expiring within the quarantine period shall automatically be renewed and shall continue to be valid sixty (60) days after the end of the government-imposed quarantine period. Thereafter, these stations shall be given sixty (60) days to file for the renewal of their permits/licenses without penalties or surcharges.”
The memo cited telecommunications as one of the basic necessities during the ECQ.
What happens now?
ABS-CBN has 10 days to respond to the order and explain why the frequencies assigned to them should not be recalled.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/05/07/20/confused-on-what-youre-seeing-online-on-the-abs-cbn-shutdown-here-are-some-facts-that-can-straighten-things-out
Last Tuesday night, after ABS-CBN's 33-year-old flagship news program TV Patrol signed off, "Lupang Hinirang" played instead of the network's usual lineup of teleseryes. After a closing message from the network, the screen then turns black.
The shut down was in response to the Cease and Desist Order issued by The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) against the corporation after its legislative franchise expired. With this unprecedented move by a government agency on the largest media network in the country, many questions remain unanswered—and many will remain unanswered in the days to come.
In a sea of doubt, here are some facts and frequently asked questions that might add clarity to a disconcerting issue.
Which among ABS-CBN’s businesses were shut down?
The order covers 42 TV stations, including the flagship, Channel 2; Channel 23; 10 digital broadcast channels; 18 FM stations and 5 AM stations, including DZMM and MOR Philippines.
Which among ABS-CBN’s businesses can still operate after the Cease and Desist order?
ABS-CBN’s online subsidiaries, like its news, entertainment, and sports websites, are still accessible. Since the NTC does not cover cable news channels, ANC (ABS-CBN News Channel) will still go on air—and its lifestyle website, ANCX, will continue to provide content. Kapamilyas will still be able to stream their favorite movies and shows on the video streaming application, iWant. The social media accounts of ABS-CBN’s subsidiaries will also be continuously updated. ABS-CBN’s film production arm, Star Cinema, is not part of NTC’s Cease and Desist Order.
Why didn’t ABS-CBN apply for the renewal of their franchise?
Several lawmakers have already authored bills that seek to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise. These include Giorgidi Aggabao (filed in September 2014), Micaela Violago (filed in 2018), and Karlo and Jericho Nograles (filed in 2018).
All bills remain pending with Congress.
What is the issue behind the complaint against ABS-CBN for operating the TV Plus digital TV box?
The Federation of International Cable TV Associations of the Philippines (FICTAP) called on NTC to impose fines and penalties against ABS-CBN for operating TV Plus, which provides owners 11 free channels, 2 movie channels, and the Kapamilya Box Office (KBO), a pay-per-view service. According to FITCAP’s Estrellita Juliano-Tamano, the black box is unlicensed, and ABS-CBN is not allowed to profit from pay-per-view fees. She also said that the TV Plus caused members of their organization to lose their businesses.
KBO is one of the products mentioned by Solicitor General Jose Calida as one of ABS-CBN’s violations.
However, in a February 24 Senate hearing, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that when ABS-CBN was granted its franchise under Republic Act No. 7966, the franchise allowed them to “construct, operate and maintain, for commercial purposes… television and radio broadcasting corporations in and throughout the Philippines.” The words “commercial purposes,” according to Guevarra was “broad enough” to encompass the pay-per-view services.
ABS-CBN launched its digital TV service of digital terrestrial television (DTT) service in 2015, two months after NTC, led by commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba, set the guidelines on shifting from analog to digital TV.
Should ABS-CBN apply for a franchise for each of their new channels, like Sports and Action, etc.?
No. ABS-CBN is using only one frequency, which can accommodate multiple channels. In fact, this is a more efficient way of using frequency. When ABS-CBN was granted its franchise, it was assigned one frequency.
Did ABS-CBN violate the law when it charged users PHP2,500 for the pay-per-view braodcast of the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight (May 2015), to which NTC issued a cease and desist order?
Justice Secretary Guevarra had expressed his opinion in the February 24 Senate hearing: “We find it clear enough that broadcast companies can engage in Conditional Access (CA) or Conditional Access System (CAS) and, for the same reason can offer TV pay-per-view services…There is nothing in said provisions that would give any impression that ‘commercial purposes’ are limited only to income derived by TV broadcast companies from paid advertisements.”
Is ABS-CBN paying their taxes?
In a February 24 Senate hearing, Simplicio Cabantac, Jr., head of Large Tax Payers Audit Division 3 of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), said that ABS-CBN has paid PHP14,398,464,316.66 in taxes, from 2016-2019. “As far as ABS-CBN account is concerned, they are regularly filing and paying their taxes for the past number of years,” Cabantac added.
In the same hearing, Ephyro Luis Amatong, supervising commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said he is “not aware of any violation or any ongoing complaint or investigation involving ABS-CBN.”
Weren’t they allowed to operate past May 4?
In March, NTC said that they would issue a provisional authority to allow ABS-CBN and its businesses to operate at least until June 2022.
Furthermore, on March 16, NTC signed a memo stating, “All subsisting permits, permits necessary to operate and maintain broadcast and pay TV facilities nationwide expiring within the quarantine period shall automatically be renewed and shall continue to be valid sixty (60) days after the end of the government-imposed quarantine period. Thereafter, these stations shall be given sixty (60) days to file for the renewal of their permits/licenses without penalties or surcharges.”
The memo cited telecommunications as one of the basic necessities during the ECQ.
What happens now?
ABS-CBN has 10 days to respond to the order and explain why the frequencies assigned to them should not be recalled.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/05/07/20/confused-on-what-youre-seeing-online-on-the-abs-cbn-shutdown-here-are-some-facts-that-can-straighten-things-out
Gusto nang bumalik sa ere! ABS-CBN runs to SC to nullify NTC’s cease, desist order
ABS-CBN has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the cease and desist order (CDO) issued by the National Telecommunications (NTC) which forced the network to halt its broadcasting operations.
The lawyers of the media giant filed before the SC on Thursday afternoon (May 7) a petition for certiorari and prohibition.
In its petition, the network sought from the SC the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) or a writ of preliminary injunction against the NTC’s cease and desist order issued on May 5.
“The continued operation of ABS-CBN Corporation is a matter of public interest and transcendental importance, it being among the largest broadcasting entities in terms of coverage and audience,” read its urgent motion for special raffle.
“As explained in the Petition, the implementation of the CDO would jeopardize the livelihood of more than 11,000 employees and their families and would deprive the public of one of their leading sources of news sand entertainment, which is especially important at this time of public health emergency,” it added.
The NTC issued the order after ABS-CBN’s legislative franchise expired on May 4.
This is contrary to its earlier pronouncements that it will issue a provisional authority to ABS-CBN which would allow the media giant to operate while the renewal of its legislative franchise remains pending before Congress.
“Republic Act No. 7966 which granted ABS-CBN a 25-year franchise to operate TV and radio broadcasting stations expired on 04 May 2020,” the NTC earlier said in a statement.
“Upon the expiration of RA 7966, ABS-CBN no longer has a valid and subsisting congressional franchise as required by Act No. 3846,” it added.
https://politics.com.ph/gusto-nang-bumalik-sa-ere-abs-cbn-runs-to-sc-to-nullify-ntcs-cease-desist-order/
The lawyers of the media giant filed before the SC on Thursday afternoon (May 7) a petition for certiorari and prohibition.
In its petition, the network sought from the SC the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) or a writ of preliminary injunction against the NTC’s cease and desist order issued on May 5.
“The continued operation of ABS-CBN Corporation is a matter of public interest and transcendental importance, it being among the largest broadcasting entities in terms of coverage and audience,” read its urgent motion for special raffle.
“As explained in the Petition, the implementation of the CDO would jeopardize the livelihood of more than 11,000 employees and their families and would deprive the public of one of their leading sources of news sand entertainment, which is especially important at this time of public health emergency,” it added.
The NTC issued the order after ABS-CBN’s legislative franchise expired on May 4.
This is contrary to its earlier pronouncements that it will issue a provisional authority to ABS-CBN which would allow the media giant to operate while the renewal of its legislative franchise remains pending before Congress.
“Republic Act No. 7966 which granted ABS-CBN a 25-year franchise to operate TV and radio broadcasting stations expired on 04 May 2020,” the NTC earlier said in a statement.
“Upon the expiration of RA 7966, ABS-CBN no longer has a valid and subsisting congressional franchise as required by Act No. 3846,” it added.
https://politics.com.ph/gusto-nang-bumalik-sa-ere-abs-cbn-runs-to-sc-to-nullify-ntcs-cease-desist-order/
NTC urged to reconsider order vs. ABS-CBN
A total of 13 senators on Thursday filed a resolution, urging the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to reconsider its cease-and-desist order (CDO) against ABS-CBN Corp. and to allow the broadcast network, as well as its subsidiaries and affiliate, to continue operations pending the disposition of its franchise renewal.
In Senate Resolution No. 395, the senators cited precedents for entities whose franchises have expired but were allowed to continue to operate, pending the grant of franchise renewal by Congress.
Among them were the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Broadcast, Globe lnnove's and PT&T.
The senators also cited NTCs Memorandum Order 03-03-2020 as another demonstration of the agency’s “liberality.”
The MO states that "(a)ll existing permits certificates and licenses, including radio operator certificates, to operate radio communications equipment, networks, and facilities, government or private, in various radio services… issued by the National Telecommunications Commission, expiring within March 15, 2020, to May 15, 2020, or during the Enhanced Community Quarantine Period shall continue to be valid one hundred and twenty (120) days after the end of the government-imposed quarantine period."
“This suggests that there is enough basis in policy and in practice to allow ABS-CBN Corporation and its subsidiaries and/or affiliates to continue their operations pending the renewal of their respective franchises,” the senators said.
They also said the CDO against ABS-CBN will impact on 13,000 of its workers, creating joblessness that "could not be more ill-timed" given the looming economic recession caused by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
SR 395 was signed by Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto, and Senators Risa Hontiveros, Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, Pia Cayetano, Sherwin Gatchalian, Lito Lapid, Manny Pacquiao, Francis Pangilinan, Joel Villanueva, and Leila de Lima.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1102213
In Senate Resolution No. 395, the senators cited precedents for entities whose franchises have expired but were allowed to continue to operate, pending the grant of franchise renewal by Congress.
Among them were the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Broadcast, Globe lnnove's and PT&T.
The senators also cited NTCs Memorandum Order 03-03-2020 as another demonstration of the agency’s “liberality.”
The MO states that "(a)ll existing permits certificates and licenses, including radio operator certificates, to operate radio communications equipment, networks, and facilities, government or private, in various radio services… issued by the National Telecommunications Commission, expiring within March 15, 2020, to May 15, 2020, or during the Enhanced Community Quarantine Period shall continue to be valid one hundred and twenty (120) days after the end of the government-imposed quarantine period."
“This suggests that there is enough basis in policy and in practice to allow ABS-CBN Corporation and its subsidiaries and/or affiliates to continue their operations pending the renewal of their respective franchises,” the senators said.
They also said the CDO against ABS-CBN will impact on 13,000 of its workers, creating joblessness that "could not be more ill-timed" given the looming economic recession caused by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
SR 395 was signed by Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto, and Senators Risa Hontiveros, Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, Pia Cayetano, Sherwin Gatchalian, Lito Lapid, Manny Pacquiao, Francis Pangilinan, Joel Villanueva, and Leila de Lima.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1102213
ABS-CBN asks SC to stop NTC’s shutdown order
A petition filed by media network ABS-CBN on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to temporarily stop the implementation of the cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
The cease and desist order was issued by NTC last May 5, a day after the network’s franchise has lapsed.
ABS-CBN immediately stopped its operation in compliance with the NTC order, which Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said is immediately executory.
In its 46-page petition for certiorari and prohibition, the country’s largest broadcast network asked the high court to set aside the NTC’s order and issue a permanent injunction against its implementation, saying that the regulatory body committed grave abuse of discretion when it issued the controversial order to stop broadcasting after its franchise expired.
“Instead of issuing a provisional authority, the NTC, in bad faith, issued cease and desist order against ABS-CBN. It did exactly the opposite of what it was expressly enjoined to do, and it maliciously reneged on the representations Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba made to the House Committee. This is grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack of jurisdiction,” read the petition.
The network was referring to the March 2020 congressional hearing where Cordoba said that the NTC will follow the advice of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to allow its continuous operation based on equity.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra had then advised the NTC to allow ABS-CBN to operate in accordance with law and equity.
But the NTC issued the shutdown order, two days after Solicitor-General Jose Calida warned that a provisional authority to operate will open a prosecution for graft.
“The NTC’s bad faith, malice, and underhandedness are simply shocking and abhorrent,” ABS-CBN said in its petition.
ABS-CBN also invoked the rule on the equal protection of the law, pointing out that the NTC broke its own precedent when it issued the desist order instead of deferring to Congress and issuing a provisional authority to allow it to continue its operations.
It pointed out that in the past, it had allowed broadcast entities with an expired franchise to continue operation pending renewal of their franchise in Congress.
“Commissioner Cordoba himself admitted that the NTC has previously allowed legislative franchise holders to continue operations notwithstanding the expiry of their franchises, the petition said, adding the NTC chief made this during the hearing of the Senate committee on public services hearing last February chaired by Sen. Grace Poe.
“There is no reason why the same practice should not be applied to ABS-CBN,” it added.
It added that the NTC even issued the order without any prior notice or hearing ignoring the damage it could cause to the network and its employees.
“The cease and desist order also violates the right of the public to information and is a curtailment of the freedom speech and of the press. Strong public interest and equity demand that ABS-CBN is allowed to continue its operation,” it said, adding there is no urgent or paramount need for the issuance of the cease and desist order.
“On the contrary, it is the closure of ABS-CBN that will cause serious and irreparable damage not only to ABS-CBN but, more importantly, to the public interest. ABS-CBN has more than 11, 000 employees and its closure will jeopardize the livelihood not only of such employees but also of their families,” the petition further stated.
The shutdown order, according to the network was also issued while the country is struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic. The NTC itself, in a memorandum order issued March 16, 2020, announced that “all subsisting permits, permits necessary to operate and maintain broadcast and pay-TV facilities nationwide expiring within the quarantine period shall automatically be renewed and shall continue to be valid 60 days after the end of the government-imposed quarantine period.”
With the shutdown order, the government will also lose a significant source of revenues, noting that from 2016 to 2019, it has remitted to the government income tax payments amounting to at least P14.3 billion.
“This does not include withholding taxes remitted by ABS-CBN for its employees and talents,’ it added.
It added that its closure would also deprive the public of one of the leading sources of news and entertainment, thereby impairing their constitutional right to information on matters of public concerns.
“ABS-CBN has also raised P237 million for COVID response and each day that it is off air limits its capacity to raise further assistance. To close ABS-CBN now when it is most needed would certainly be detrimental to the public. Moreover, ABS-CBN cannot be closed without compromising the fundamental guarantees of freedom of speech and press,” it said.
ABS-CBN also filed an urgent motion asking the SC to hold a special raffle so that the petition may be assigned immediately to a division.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1271441/abs-cbn-asks-sc-issue-a-restraining-order-vs-ntcs-shutdown-order
The cease and desist order was issued by NTC last May 5, a day after the network’s franchise has lapsed.
ABS-CBN immediately stopped its operation in compliance with the NTC order, which Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said is immediately executory.
In its 46-page petition for certiorari and prohibition, the country’s largest broadcast network asked the high court to set aside the NTC’s order and issue a permanent injunction against its implementation, saying that the regulatory body committed grave abuse of discretion when it issued the controversial order to stop broadcasting after its franchise expired.
“Instead of issuing a provisional authority, the NTC, in bad faith, issued cease and desist order against ABS-CBN. It did exactly the opposite of what it was expressly enjoined to do, and it maliciously reneged on the representations Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba made to the House Committee. This is grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack of jurisdiction,” read the petition.
The network was referring to the March 2020 congressional hearing where Cordoba said that the NTC will follow the advice of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to allow its continuous operation based on equity.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra had then advised the NTC to allow ABS-CBN to operate in accordance with law and equity.
But the NTC issued the shutdown order, two days after Solicitor-General Jose Calida warned that a provisional authority to operate will open a prosecution for graft.
“The NTC’s bad faith, malice, and underhandedness are simply shocking and abhorrent,” ABS-CBN said in its petition.
ABS-CBN also invoked the rule on the equal protection of the law, pointing out that the NTC broke its own precedent when it issued the desist order instead of deferring to Congress and issuing a provisional authority to allow it to continue its operations.
It pointed out that in the past, it had allowed broadcast entities with an expired franchise to continue operation pending renewal of their franchise in Congress.
“Commissioner Cordoba himself admitted that the NTC has previously allowed legislative franchise holders to continue operations notwithstanding the expiry of their franchises, the petition said, adding the NTC chief made this during the hearing of the Senate committee on public services hearing last February chaired by Sen. Grace Poe.
“There is no reason why the same practice should not be applied to ABS-CBN,” it added.
It added that the NTC even issued the order without any prior notice or hearing ignoring the damage it could cause to the network and its employees.
“The cease and desist order also violates the right of the public to information and is a curtailment of the freedom speech and of the press. Strong public interest and equity demand that ABS-CBN is allowed to continue its operation,” it said, adding there is no urgent or paramount need for the issuance of the cease and desist order.
“On the contrary, it is the closure of ABS-CBN that will cause serious and irreparable damage not only to ABS-CBN but, more importantly, to the public interest. ABS-CBN has more than 11, 000 employees and its closure will jeopardize the livelihood not only of such employees but also of their families,” the petition further stated.
The shutdown order, according to the network was also issued while the country is struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic. The NTC itself, in a memorandum order issued March 16, 2020, announced that “all subsisting permits, permits necessary to operate and maintain broadcast and pay-TV facilities nationwide expiring within the quarantine period shall automatically be renewed and shall continue to be valid 60 days after the end of the government-imposed quarantine period.”
With the shutdown order, the government will also lose a significant source of revenues, noting that from 2016 to 2019, it has remitted to the government income tax payments amounting to at least P14.3 billion.
“This does not include withholding taxes remitted by ABS-CBN for its employees and talents,’ it added.
It added that its closure would also deprive the public of one of the leading sources of news and entertainment, thereby impairing their constitutional right to information on matters of public concerns.
“ABS-CBN has also raised P237 million for COVID response and each day that it is off air limits its capacity to raise further assistance. To close ABS-CBN now when it is most needed would certainly be detrimental to the public. Moreover, ABS-CBN cannot be closed without compromising the fundamental guarantees of freedom of speech and press,” it said.
ABS-CBN also filed an urgent motion asking the SC to hold a special raffle so that the petition may be assigned immediately to a division.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1271441/abs-cbn-asks-sc-issue-a-restraining-order-vs-ntcs-shutdown-order
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
ABS-CBN: Maraming salamat, Kapuso
Dati-rati, ang mga boses lamang ni Mike Enriquez at ng GMA-7 voice-over announcer na si Al Torres ang naririnig natin na nagsasabi ng "Maraming salamat, Kapuso."
Pero ngayong Miyerkoles, May 6, ang ABS-CBN ang nagsabi ng “Maraming salamat, Kapuso."
Ito ay bilang pasasalamat sa Kapuso personalities na nagpahayag ng suporta at simpatiya sa matinding pagsubok na pinagdaraanan ng Kapamilya Network.
Ipinasara ng National Telecommunications Commission ang ABS-CBN kahapon, May 5.
Sina Lovi Poe, Gabbi Garcia, Maine Mendoza, Bea Binene, Kara David, Janine Gutierrez, at Julie Anne San Jose ang ilan sa mga Kapuso personalities na pinasalamatan ng ABS-CBN, sa pamamagitan ng isang news article, dahil sa kanilang mga social media post na pagpapakita ng suporta at pakikiisa.
Bahagi ng artikulo na inilabas ng ABS-CBN News na may headline na "Kapuso celebs send red, green, blue hearts in solidarity with ABS-CBN":
"As the Kapamilya network signed off Tuesday in compliance with cease and desist order from the National Telecommunications Commission, personalities from rival station GMA-7, too, were among those who expressed support for ABS-CBN's continued service.
"The show of solidarity ranged from calling out the attack on press freedom, to messages of hope that ABS-CBN will overcome the challenge — most of them with heart emojis in red, green, and blue, symbolizing the network."
Ipinaabot din ng ABS-CBN executive na si Charo Santos-Concio ang pasasalamat sa lahat, gamit ang kanyang Instagram account.
"Maraming-maraming salamat sa inyong pagmamahal at suporta. Hanggang sa muli," mensahe ni Charo, na may hashtag na #InTheServiceOfTheFilipino.
https://www.pep.ph/pepalerts/cabinet-files/151263/abs-cbn-thanks-kapuso-a734-20200506
Pero ngayong Miyerkoles, May 6, ang ABS-CBN ang nagsabi ng “Maraming salamat, Kapuso."
Ito ay bilang pasasalamat sa Kapuso personalities na nagpahayag ng suporta at simpatiya sa matinding pagsubok na pinagdaraanan ng Kapamilya Network.
Ipinasara ng National Telecommunications Commission ang ABS-CBN kahapon, May 5.
Sina Lovi Poe, Gabbi Garcia, Maine Mendoza, Bea Binene, Kara David, Janine Gutierrez, at Julie Anne San Jose ang ilan sa mga Kapuso personalities na pinasalamatan ng ABS-CBN, sa pamamagitan ng isang news article, dahil sa kanilang mga social media post na pagpapakita ng suporta at pakikiisa.
Bahagi ng artikulo na inilabas ng ABS-CBN News na may headline na "Kapuso celebs send red, green, blue hearts in solidarity with ABS-CBN":
"As the Kapamilya network signed off Tuesday in compliance with cease and desist order from the National Telecommunications Commission, personalities from rival station GMA-7, too, were among those who expressed support for ABS-CBN's continued service.
"The show of solidarity ranged from calling out the attack on press freedom, to messages of hope that ABS-CBN will overcome the challenge — most of them with heart emojis in red, green, and blue, symbolizing the network."
Ipinaabot din ng ABS-CBN executive na si Charo Santos-Concio ang pasasalamat sa lahat, gamit ang kanyang Instagram account.
"Maraming-maraming salamat sa inyong pagmamahal at suporta. Hanggang sa muli," mensahe ni Charo, na may hashtag na #InTheServiceOfTheFilipino.
https://www.pep.ph/pepalerts/cabinet-files/151263/abs-cbn-thanks-kapuso-a734-20200506
NTC under fire for halt order vs ABS-CBN
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is under fire from lawmakers after issuing a cease and desist order against ABS-CBN.
In appearances at hearings of both the House and the Senate, NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Corodoba told lawmakers it could issue a provisional authority allowing the network to remain on air
upon the recommendation of Congress.
“If mangyari po yung sinabi ni Secretary of Justice na magkaroon kami ng authority from Congress to issue a provisional authority, then the frequency of ABS-CBN will be retained while the renewal is pending," Cordoba said during the hearing.
In his legal opinion, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra had pointed out the cases of Smart Communications, PT&T, and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, which were allowed to operate despite expired franchises but had pending applications for renewals.
In those cases, the NTC neither issued a provisional authority or cease and desist orders.
On Tuesday, the chairperson of the House legislative franchises committee warned the NTC that it would be summoned to explain why it should not be held in contempt should it renege on its commitment to grant ABS-CBN a provisional authority to continue operations.
The Solicitor General's "pressure" for the NTC not to issue the network provisional permit to operate "directly challenges" Congress' exclusive authority over broadcast franchises, according to Palawan 1st District Rep. Franz Alvarez.
Calida warns NTC against issuing provisional authority to ABS-CBN, affiliates
"If the NTC chooses to succumb to the pressure of the Solicitor General, and disregard the commitments they gave under oath, we reserve the right to call them before Congress and explain why they should not be held in contempt," Alvarez said in a statement.
"We have recently been made aware of efforts by the Solicitor General to pressure the (NTC) to go against the ruling of the Department of Justice, which states that ABS-CBN may continue to broadcast while Congress deliberates on the renewal of its franchise."
"We would like to make it clear that Congress takes this matter very seriously...," Alvarez said.
The Solicitor General, according to Alvarez, "should have the decency to give Congress this courtesy to complete the exercise of its power," noting that his committee already began deliberations on the broadcast company's application for franchise renewal before adjourning in March.
He said that enjoining NTC to allow ABS-CBN to operate until Congress finally decides on its franchise application is necessary to give lawmakers "sufficient time" to assess.
The committee would not be "dictated upon" by any agency on the "manner, schedule, and conduct of it’s official business," he said.
In March, the NTC said it would issue a provisional authority to allow ABS-CBN and its subsidiaries to operate until June 2022, while Congress deliberates on the network's franchise renewal bid.
"The power of Congress to legislate is complete, full, and plenary. A legislative franchise is a law and by deciding whether to grant or deny a franchise, it is passing a law and making policy," Alvarez reiterated.
"With the legal opinion of the Department of Justice and the authority given by the House of Representatives, there is no reason for ABS-CBN to discontinue or stop their operations until we make a final decision."
ABS-CBN's franchise expired Monday, May 4.
The NTC earlier issued a memorandum allowing the automatic renewal of expiring permits of broadcast and pay TV facilities during the enhanced community quarantine.
The Luzon lockdown ended on April 30 but the measure was extended in Metro Manila until May 15 to contain the spread of COVID-19.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/06/20/ntc-under-fire-for-halt-order-vs-abs-cbn
In appearances at hearings of both the House and the Senate, NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Corodoba told lawmakers it could issue a provisional authority allowing the network to remain on air
upon the recommendation of Congress.
“If mangyari po yung sinabi ni Secretary of Justice na magkaroon kami ng authority from Congress to issue a provisional authority, then the frequency of ABS-CBN will be retained while the renewal is pending," Cordoba said during the hearing.
In his legal opinion, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra had pointed out the cases of Smart Communications, PT&T, and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, which were allowed to operate despite expired franchises but had pending applications for renewals.
In those cases, the NTC neither issued a provisional authority or cease and desist orders.
On Tuesday, the chairperson of the House legislative franchises committee warned the NTC that it would be summoned to explain why it should not be held in contempt should it renege on its commitment to grant ABS-CBN a provisional authority to continue operations.
The Solicitor General's "pressure" for the NTC not to issue the network provisional permit to operate "directly challenges" Congress' exclusive authority over broadcast franchises, according to Palawan 1st District Rep. Franz Alvarez.
Calida warns NTC against issuing provisional authority to ABS-CBN, affiliates
"If the NTC chooses to succumb to the pressure of the Solicitor General, and disregard the commitments they gave under oath, we reserve the right to call them before Congress and explain why they should not be held in contempt," Alvarez said in a statement.
"We have recently been made aware of efforts by the Solicitor General to pressure the (NTC) to go against the ruling of the Department of Justice, which states that ABS-CBN may continue to broadcast while Congress deliberates on the renewal of its franchise."
"We would like to make it clear that Congress takes this matter very seriously...," Alvarez said.
The Solicitor General, according to Alvarez, "should have the decency to give Congress this courtesy to complete the exercise of its power," noting that his committee already began deliberations on the broadcast company's application for franchise renewal before adjourning in March.
He said that enjoining NTC to allow ABS-CBN to operate until Congress finally decides on its franchise application is necessary to give lawmakers "sufficient time" to assess.
The committee would not be "dictated upon" by any agency on the "manner, schedule, and conduct of it’s official business," he said.
In March, the NTC said it would issue a provisional authority to allow ABS-CBN and its subsidiaries to operate until June 2022, while Congress deliberates on the network's franchise renewal bid.
"The power of Congress to legislate is complete, full, and plenary. A legislative franchise is a law and by deciding whether to grant or deny a franchise, it is passing a law and making policy," Alvarez reiterated.
"With the legal opinion of the Department of Justice and the authority given by the House of Representatives, there is no reason for ABS-CBN to discontinue or stop their operations until we make a final decision."
ABS-CBN's franchise expired Monday, May 4.
The NTC earlier issued a memorandum allowing the automatic renewal of expiring permits of broadcast and pay TV facilities during the enhanced community quarantine.
The Luzon lockdown ended on April 30 but the measure was extended in Metro Manila until May 15 to contain the spread of COVID-19.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/06/20/ntc-under-fire-for-halt-order-vs-abs-cbn
LIST: Broadcast firms, telcos allowed to operate beyond franchise validity
There are precedents in allowing ABS-CBN to operate after its franchise expired on May 4, based on previous cases of broadcast and telecommunications companies.
During a Senate hearing last February, Public services committee chairman Senator Grace Poe listed previous instances where the renewal of franchises were approved after their expiry date.
"Yan ay maraming halimbawa na kung saan hindi pa tapos ang prangkisa ay nagkaroon pa rin ng apruba ng prangkisa on a temporary basis hanggang matapos ang pagdinig," Poe said in February.
(Those are examples where franchise hearing weren't done yet but there were approvals of franchise on a temporary bases until the discussion on renewal ended.)
National Telecommunications Commissioner (NTC) Gamaliel Cordoba, testifying in the same hearing, acknowledged that in similar instances, broadcast and telecommunication companies were allowed to operate past their franchise validity.
"Meron po kasing mga cases before na ang nangyari while na legislative process ay umaandar, nangyari po ang pag end or pag lapse ng franchise ng mga pending committee bills of franchise, ay tumuloy naman po ito, but that was based on the opinion of the House of Representatives and the Senate," Cordoba said.
(There were cases before where, when the legislative process are on-going, once the franchise ends, they continued to operate.)
Under the law, Congress has the exclusive authority to grant, deny, extend or revoke broadcast franchises.
List of precedents where franchises were approved and firms were allowed to operate past their expiry dates:
Solicitor General Jose Calida on Sunday warned the NTC against issuing a provisional authority to ABS-CBN, saying there was no law granting the agency to grant franchises. Calida earlier questioned the validity of ABS-CBN's franchise before the Supreme Court.
The NTC earlier said all live permits to operate and maintain broadcast and pay-TV facilities that would expire during the quarantine period would be automatically renewed. The licenses will be valid for 60 days from the end of the quarantine period.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/06/20/list-broadcast-firms-telcos-allowed-to-operate-beyond-franchise-validity
During a Senate hearing last February, Public services committee chairman Senator Grace Poe listed previous instances where the renewal of franchises were approved after their expiry date.
"Yan ay maraming halimbawa na kung saan hindi pa tapos ang prangkisa ay nagkaroon pa rin ng apruba ng prangkisa on a temporary basis hanggang matapos ang pagdinig," Poe said in February.
(Those are examples where franchise hearing weren't done yet but there were approvals of franchise on a temporary bases until the discussion on renewal ended.)
National Telecommunications Commissioner (NTC) Gamaliel Cordoba, testifying in the same hearing, acknowledged that in similar instances, broadcast and telecommunication companies were allowed to operate past their franchise validity.
"Meron po kasing mga cases before na ang nangyari while na legislative process ay umaandar, nangyari po ang pag end or pag lapse ng franchise ng mga pending committee bills of franchise, ay tumuloy naman po ito, but that was based on the opinion of the House of Representatives and the Senate," Cordoba said.
(There were cases before where, when the legislative process are on-going, once the franchise ends, they continued to operate.)
Under the law, Congress has the exclusive authority to grant, deny, extend or revoke broadcast franchises.
List of precedents where franchises were approved and firms were allowed to operate past their expiry dates:
- GMA Network Inc - Franchise expired on March 20,2017 but the renewal application was signed April 21, 2017
- TV5 Network Inc - Franchise expired on December 9, 2019 but the new franchise bill was signed on April 2019
- Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines - Franchise expired in 2017 but its new franchise was approved 2 years after in 2019
- Subic Broadcasting Corp - The franchise expired in 2017 while the renewal was approved in 2018
- Radio Marine Network Inc - Franchise validity lasted until 2018 while its new franchise was approved in 2019
- Smart Communications - Franchise lapsed on March 2017, new franchise was approved in April 2017
- Innove Communications, Inc. - Franchise expired in April 10, 2017, new franchise was approved Dec. 14, 2018
- Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp (PT&T) - Franchise expired in 2015, while the renewal bill lapsed into law in 2016
Solicitor General Jose Calida on Sunday warned the NTC against issuing a provisional authority to ABS-CBN, saying there was no law granting the agency to grant franchises. Calida earlier questioned the validity of ABS-CBN's franchise before the Supreme Court.
The NTC earlier said all live permits to operate and maintain broadcast and pay-TV facilities that would expire during the quarantine period would be automatically renewed. The licenses will be valid for 60 days from the end of the quarantine period.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/06/20/list-broadcast-firms-telcos-allowed-to-operate-beyond-franchise-validity
OPINION: Silence is not an option on ABS-CBN shutdown
The last time the curtains went down on ABS-CBN was when the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972.
One of the tyrant’s first moves in imposing one-man rule was to close down news outfits on print, radio, and television.
Journalists were jailed, tortured, or killed. ABS-CBN president Geny Lopez spent five years in detention without trial. Marcos crony Roberto Benedicto stepped in and took over the company assets.
In the print media, other cronies of the dictator would assume ownership of newspapers, presiding over a tame press until the advent of the mosquito press -- small, independent (sometimes, underground) publications,
Journalists like Joe Burgos and others risked repeated arrests and raids, and the confiscation of print runs, to shatter the silence, to shine a light on the many areas of corruption and abuse – and growing people’s resistance.
The growth of the mosquito press kept pace with the expanding anti-dictatorship movement in the national capital and the provinces, drawing in young journalists. Even in the crony media, journalists started pushing at the censors’ gates, playing a cat-and-mouse game with Marcos' minions in the Armed Forces.
The broadcast facilities that fell into Benedicto’s hands during the Marcos years would later play a major role in the EDSA People Power Revolt of 1986 that ousted the dictator.
After the late June Keithley announced on Radyo Bandido that Marcos had left his presidential palace on the banks of the Pasig River, he appeared on Benedicto’s station, Channel 4, to declare he was not stepping down.
But shortly after, a military rebel contingent captured the station, sending it briefly off the air. When it went live again, Filipinos heard the words, “to serve the people.”
At midnight of the following day, the dictator fled Malacanang as angry citizens massed around its gates.
Veterans, young turks
Thirty-four years after, the country’s largest broadcast network has once more gone on the blink, following a cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
The generation of young journalists who saw the dictator fall is now at the helm of ABS-CBN’s Integrated News department. Some have retired.
Angelo Castro, the deep-voiced face and voice of the English newscast, The World Tonight, who manned the People Power rebel station with Keithley, his wife, left in 2012 for the afterlife.
Ging Reyes, the executive producer and head writer of “The World Tonight,” now heads the network’s Integrated News Department.
Since her 2010 return from the United States, where she headed the network’s North America bureau, Reyes has urged colleagues to fuse heart and mind in telling the story of the Filipino.
Under her leadership, younger journalists have stepped into the spotlight, winning awards and accolades with a combination of gritty news-gathering, incisive analysis, and lyrical story-telling.
Jeff Canoy won the prestigious Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature contest for his 2017 “Buhay Pa Kami (We Are Still Alive): Dispatches from Marawi,” a long-form piece on the brutal five-month-long siege of the Southern Philippines Islamic City, written for ABS-CBN News Digital.
His Marawi documentary with fellow journalist Chiara Zambrano also bagged a Gold World Medal at the New York Festivals and the country’s first Gold Dolphin for Best Documentary for Current Affairs, Human Concerns, and Social Issues Category at the 9th Cannes Corporate Media and TV Awards in France.
Former print journalist Christian Esguerra is an unflappable, calm but sharp interviewer and anchor of the ANC “Early Edition” and has since branched out to podcast with “Matters of Fact”.
Canoy was named the 2018 Marshall McLuhan fellow by the Embassy of Canada and the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, following in the footsteps of Lynda Jumilla, who now heads digital media. Esguerra also bagged the 2019 award of distinction from the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR)
Most ABS-CBN journalists are savvy in multi-media news production, allowing them to break first on digital platforms while processing reports for the free legacy flagship programs.
ABS-CBN News' special digital report on the Duterte’s war on drugs, written and photographed by multi-media head, Fernando Sepe Jr., won the award for Excellence in Feature Writing at the Society of Publishers in Asia's (SOPA) 2018 Awards for Editorial Excellence.
“Healing the wounds from the drug war” stands among the examples of how Filipino journalists have pushed beyond numbers and statistics to show the real costs on lives of Duterte’s draconian ways.
Government apologists like to hurl the jeer, “dilawan” against ABS-CBN.
But the truth is, like any other credible news organization, the network has earned the ire of a series of Philippine presidents. Duterte’s predecessor, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, once lambasted the network in front of its executives, anchors, and workers.
But only the Duterte government has worked openly to kill the station.
Free flow of information
The NTC had initially promised the House of Representatives and the Senate a provisional franchise for the network while Congress consolidates bills seeking the renewal of its franchise.
But on May 3, World Press Freedom Day, on the eve of the existing franchise’s end, Solicitor-General Jose Calida, known as President Rodrigo Duterte’s hatchet man, threatened to file charges against NTC officials if they made good their pledge.
The NTC caved in.
ABS-CBN journalists assigned to cover all branches of government reported events that culminated with station’s evening sign-off.
They continue working today. ABS-CBN’s digital platforms and its ANC cable news channel are not affected by the closure order. DzMMTeleradyo’s continues on Channel 26 of SkyCable and will stream on the network’s social media platforms.
But the world is not just digital.
Cutting off legacy media affects millions who cannot afford the costs of digital services.
Farmers, workers, poor people trapped in their homes as COVID19 continues to rampage across the country, still depend on radio and free television channels to get crucial information needed to protect their families’ health and rights.
Two million Bayan Patrollers, citizen journalists trained in media literacy and reporting, know that in many provinces, corrupt and negligent officials are best moved to action and reforms when news hits free TV and radio.
“Living in an area where cable networks hardly operate, majority of our towns in Lanao del Sur especially in far-flung areas tuned in to ABS-CBN because it’s the only channel their makeshift TV antennas could reach. They, too, have rights to accurate information,” Bangsamoro Parliament member Zia Alonto Adiong, the government spokesman during the Marawi crisis, pointed out on Twitter.
Whatever finger-pointing antics the day holds, one thing is clear: The closure of ABS-CBN leaves a big scar on the landscape where critical, vetted information should flow free, especially in an era of disinformation.
The network’s sign-off should also be seen in the context of incessant attacks on press freedom in this country, under a President who has insulted, abused, cut off journalists since even before he assumed office.
Rappler’s editors continue to battle assorted criminal cases that could affect their operations. Its reporters and correspondents are banned from covering the President. Alternative news outfits are tagged as terrorists; at least two senior reporters have been arrested and deliberate hacking attempts have tried to bring down their news platforms.
Journalists also continue to die in the Philippines. As ABS-CBN signed off, five men gunned down Dumaguete-based broadcaster and dyMD Energy 93.7 FM anchorman Rex Cornelio. He was the third journalist and broadcaster murdered in Dumaguete in as many years, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).
“If Cornelio's killing is proven to be work-related, he would be the 16th journalist slain under President Rodrigo Duterte and the 188th since 1986,” said the NUJP.
The government’s general stance on dissent has grown increasingly draconian, with national officials dragging in militant organizations, big non-profit and church groups, and political parties, in a never-ending round of conspiracies lumping together hot-button issues like destabilization and terrorism.
Disinformation can fool people sometimes. But it can’t fool all the people all the time, to paraphrase music legend Bob Marley.
Between the time TV Patrol went on air till midnight on the day it temporarily went dark, more than a million tweets demanded an end to the shutdown of ABS-CBN.
ABS-CBN’s chief executive officer Carlo Katigbak vows the network will be back, nor will it allow the setback to stop delivery of important news and entertainment to millions of Filipinos.
TV Patrol anchor Noli de Castro ended the program fighting words: “We will not be silenced despite this attack on our democracy and press freedom. In the face of this challenge facing our company and livelihood, we will not turn our backs on you.”
The Filipino people have thrown off the yoke of tyranny before. It takes collective action, with media and the public working together in defense of democracy. This nation knows silence is not an option. That way lies disaster, an open highway to abuse, corruption and massive trampling of our rights.
Disclaimer: The views in this blog are those of the blogger and do not necessarily reflect the views of ABS-CBN Corp.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/05/06/20/opinion-silence-is-not-an-option-on-abs-cbn-shutdown
One of the tyrant’s first moves in imposing one-man rule was to close down news outfits on print, radio, and television.
Journalists were jailed, tortured, or killed. ABS-CBN president Geny Lopez spent five years in detention without trial. Marcos crony Roberto Benedicto stepped in and took over the company assets.
In the print media, other cronies of the dictator would assume ownership of newspapers, presiding over a tame press until the advent of the mosquito press -- small, independent (sometimes, underground) publications,
Journalists like Joe Burgos and others risked repeated arrests and raids, and the confiscation of print runs, to shatter the silence, to shine a light on the many areas of corruption and abuse – and growing people’s resistance.
The growth of the mosquito press kept pace with the expanding anti-dictatorship movement in the national capital and the provinces, drawing in young journalists. Even in the crony media, journalists started pushing at the censors’ gates, playing a cat-and-mouse game with Marcos' minions in the Armed Forces.
The broadcast facilities that fell into Benedicto’s hands during the Marcos years would later play a major role in the EDSA People Power Revolt of 1986 that ousted the dictator.
After the late June Keithley announced on Radyo Bandido that Marcos had left his presidential palace on the banks of the Pasig River, he appeared on Benedicto’s station, Channel 4, to declare he was not stepping down.
But shortly after, a military rebel contingent captured the station, sending it briefly off the air. When it went live again, Filipinos heard the words, “to serve the people.”
At midnight of the following day, the dictator fled Malacanang as angry citizens massed around its gates.
Veterans, young turks
Thirty-four years after, the country’s largest broadcast network has once more gone on the blink, following a cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
The generation of young journalists who saw the dictator fall is now at the helm of ABS-CBN’s Integrated News department. Some have retired.
Angelo Castro, the deep-voiced face and voice of the English newscast, The World Tonight, who manned the People Power rebel station with Keithley, his wife, left in 2012 for the afterlife.
Ging Reyes, the executive producer and head writer of “The World Tonight,” now heads the network’s Integrated News Department.
Since her 2010 return from the United States, where she headed the network’s North America bureau, Reyes has urged colleagues to fuse heart and mind in telling the story of the Filipino.
Under her leadership, younger journalists have stepped into the spotlight, winning awards and accolades with a combination of gritty news-gathering, incisive analysis, and lyrical story-telling.
Jeff Canoy won the prestigious Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature contest for his 2017 “Buhay Pa Kami (We Are Still Alive): Dispatches from Marawi,” a long-form piece on the brutal five-month-long siege of the Southern Philippines Islamic City, written for ABS-CBN News Digital.
His Marawi documentary with fellow journalist Chiara Zambrano also bagged a Gold World Medal at the New York Festivals and the country’s first Gold Dolphin for Best Documentary for Current Affairs, Human Concerns, and Social Issues Category at the 9th Cannes Corporate Media and TV Awards in France.
Former print journalist Christian Esguerra is an unflappable, calm but sharp interviewer and anchor of the ANC “Early Edition” and has since branched out to podcast with “Matters of Fact”.
Canoy was named the 2018 Marshall McLuhan fellow by the Embassy of Canada and the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, following in the footsteps of Lynda Jumilla, who now heads digital media. Esguerra also bagged the 2019 award of distinction from the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR)
Most ABS-CBN journalists are savvy in multi-media news production, allowing them to break first on digital platforms while processing reports for the free legacy flagship programs.
ABS-CBN News' special digital report on the Duterte’s war on drugs, written and photographed by multi-media head, Fernando Sepe Jr., won the award for Excellence in Feature Writing at the Society of Publishers in Asia's (SOPA) 2018 Awards for Editorial Excellence.
“Healing the wounds from the drug war” stands among the examples of how Filipino journalists have pushed beyond numbers and statistics to show the real costs on lives of Duterte’s draconian ways.
Government apologists like to hurl the jeer, “dilawan” against ABS-CBN.
But the truth is, like any other credible news organization, the network has earned the ire of a series of Philippine presidents. Duterte’s predecessor, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, once lambasted the network in front of its executives, anchors, and workers.
But only the Duterte government has worked openly to kill the station.
Free flow of information
The NTC had initially promised the House of Representatives and the Senate a provisional franchise for the network while Congress consolidates bills seeking the renewal of its franchise.
But on May 3, World Press Freedom Day, on the eve of the existing franchise’s end, Solicitor-General Jose Calida, known as President Rodrigo Duterte’s hatchet man, threatened to file charges against NTC officials if they made good their pledge.
The NTC caved in.
ABS-CBN journalists assigned to cover all branches of government reported events that culminated with station’s evening sign-off.
They continue working today. ABS-CBN’s digital platforms and its ANC cable news channel are not affected by the closure order. DzMMTeleradyo’s continues on Channel 26 of SkyCable and will stream on the network’s social media platforms.
But the world is not just digital.
Cutting off legacy media affects millions who cannot afford the costs of digital services.
Farmers, workers, poor people trapped in their homes as COVID19 continues to rampage across the country, still depend on radio and free television channels to get crucial information needed to protect their families’ health and rights.
Two million Bayan Patrollers, citizen journalists trained in media literacy and reporting, know that in many provinces, corrupt and negligent officials are best moved to action and reforms when news hits free TV and radio.
“Living in an area where cable networks hardly operate, majority of our towns in Lanao del Sur especially in far-flung areas tuned in to ABS-CBN because it’s the only channel their makeshift TV antennas could reach. They, too, have rights to accurate information,” Bangsamoro Parliament member Zia Alonto Adiong, the government spokesman during the Marawi crisis, pointed out on Twitter.
Whatever finger-pointing antics the day holds, one thing is clear: The closure of ABS-CBN leaves a big scar on the landscape where critical, vetted information should flow free, especially in an era of disinformation.
The network’s sign-off should also be seen in the context of incessant attacks on press freedom in this country, under a President who has insulted, abused, cut off journalists since even before he assumed office.
Rappler’s editors continue to battle assorted criminal cases that could affect their operations. Its reporters and correspondents are banned from covering the President. Alternative news outfits are tagged as terrorists; at least two senior reporters have been arrested and deliberate hacking attempts have tried to bring down their news platforms.
Journalists also continue to die in the Philippines. As ABS-CBN signed off, five men gunned down Dumaguete-based broadcaster and dyMD Energy 93.7 FM anchorman Rex Cornelio. He was the third journalist and broadcaster murdered in Dumaguete in as many years, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).
“If Cornelio's killing is proven to be work-related, he would be the 16th journalist slain under President Rodrigo Duterte and the 188th since 1986,” said the NUJP.
The government’s general stance on dissent has grown increasingly draconian, with national officials dragging in militant organizations, big non-profit and church groups, and political parties, in a never-ending round of conspiracies lumping together hot-button issues like destabilization and terrorism.
Disinformation can fool people sometimes. But it can’t fool all the people all the time, to paraphrase music legend Bob Marley.
Between the time TV Patrol went on air till midnight on the day it temporarily went dark, more than a million tweets demanded an end to the shutdown of ABS-CBN.
ABS-CBN’s chief executive officer Carlo Katigbak vows the network will be back, nor will it allow the setback to stop delivery of important news and entertainment to millions of Filipinos.
The Filipino people have thrown off the yoke of tyranny before. It takes collective action, with media and the public working together in defense of democracy. This nation knows silence is not an option. That way lies disaster, an open highway to abuse, corruption and massive trampling of our rights.
Disclaimer: The views in this blog are those of the blogger and do not necessarily reflect the views of ABS-CBN Corp.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/05/06/20/opinion-silence-is-not-an-option-on-abs-cbn-shutdown
ABS-CBN vows comeback after being shut down by government
 |
| ‘KEEP US IN YOUR THOUGHTS’ ABS-CBN employees light candles in solidarity as the network’s darkest hour came on Tuesday night. —EDWIN BACASMAS |
The NTC issued a cease-and-desist order (CDO) to the network earlier on Tuesday, a day after the network’s 25-year franchise had expired.
The network went off the air at 7:52 p.m., at the close of its flagship news program, “TV Patrol.”
It was the first time ABS-CBN was forced by the government to shut down since it was padlocked in September 1972 when dictator Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law.
NTC assurance
In March, NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba assured members of the House of Representatives that the agency would heed the advice of the Department of Justice to allow ABS-CBN to operate while its franchise renewal was pending in Congress.
But on Sunday, Solicitor General Jose Calida, who earlier filed a quo warranto petition against ABS-CBN to have the network’s franchise revoked, warned the NTC against granting a provisional authority to the broadcaster.
Cordoba and Deputy Commissioners Edgardo V. Cabarios and Delilah Deles signed the NTC order on ABS-CBN to “stop operating its various TV and radio broadcasting stations nationwide.”
Cabarios denied that the NTC was pressured by Calida.
He explained that the issue was “the validity of the franchise” and that its legal team had “deemed it proper to issue a CDO” despite Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra’s position that broadcast entities could continue operating while their franchise renewals were pending in Congress.
He cited Republic Act No. 3846, or the Radio Control Law that was last amended in the 1950s, which said “no person, firm, company, association or corporation shall construct, install, establish, or operate a radio station within the Philippine Islands without having first obtained a franchise therefor from the Philippine Legislature.”
Despite its diversification into high-speed broadband, theme parks as well as international and digital productions, ABS-CBN still relies on advertising from its TV business for about half of its revenues, which hit P40 billion in 2018.
Prior to signing off, network executives thanked the public and its 11,000 employees.
“At the start of the enhanced community quarantine, many of you continued to go to work, to maintain our broadcast,” Carlo Katigbak, president and CEO of ABS-CBN, told company employees.
He said the network “has done everything and has not violated any laws,” in having its franchise renewed and Congress had acknowledged its importance.
“If we have been important to you, keep us in your thoughts, in honor of all our employees,” Katigbak said.
Company chair Mark Lopez said it was painful to go off the air, but the company was not losing hope.
“Help us continue to pray, so that ABS-CBN can go back on air, and continue to serve,” he said.
Emotional Noli
Former vice president and longtime TV Patrol anchor Noli de Castro was emotional.
“We will not be silenced despite this attack on our democracy and press freedom. In the face of this challenge facing our company and livelihood, we will not turn our backs on you. We, you, are ABS-CBN,” De Castro said in Filipino.
The ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) and the network’s social media accounts remain active.
The moves by the NTC and Calida came amid the new coronavirus pandemic that had shuttered most of the economy and regular government functions.
It followed President Rodrigo Duterte’s threat to shut the network down over a feud with its owners that supposedly began when the TV network failed to air his advertisements during the 2016 election campaign.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon condemned the order, saying the NTC gravely abused its discretion.
ABS-CBN could challenge the NTC order at the Supreme Court, which could issue a temporary restraining order, he said.
“The Supreme Court itself has said provisional authority can be authorized to be issued where the application for the renewal of the franchise is pending,” said Drilon, a former justice secretary.
No basis
At the House of Representatives, Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez, the head of the committee on franchises, said there was no basis for the NTC to shut ABS-CBN.
“If the NTC chooses to succumb to the pressure of the solicitor general and disregard the commitments they gave under oath, we reserve the right to call them before Congress and explain why they should not be held in contempt,” he warned.
Calida on Sunday issued a statement saying there was no legal basis for the NTC to authorize ABS-CBN to keep broadcasting with an expired license. He warned the commissioners that they could be prosecuted if they did.
Detained Sen. Leila de Lima in a statement said Calida should be disbarred for threatening to sue NTC officials and “for publicly going against (his) clients.”
The NTC’s order against the network contradicts the resolution separately adopted by both chambers of Congress, which authorized the NTC to let ABS-CBN operate pending the approval of its franchise extension, according to Sen. Sonny Angara.
“I want to express my reservations regarding this because at a time of (a health crisis), people need to be informed by reliable sources,” Angara said. “It’s really disappointing.”
‘Foolishness’
Sen. Risa Hontiveros said the country needed “more, not fewer voices of a free and responsible media especially in this time of pandemic when our countrymen need right and complete information.”
Sen. Francis Pangilinan condemned the NTC’s “arbitrary exercise of governmental power.”
“This is foolishness,” he said.
Laguna Rep. Sol Aragones, the author of one of the 11 ABS-CBN franchise renewal bills and a former reporter for the network, said she was dismayed and shocked by the NTC’s order.
“I was expecting them to issue provisional authority to ABS-CBN so it could continue airing while the committee on franchises was hearing the application,” she said.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said that the shutdown came just two days after World Press Freedom Day.
“All this stems from President Rodrigo Duterte’s personal vendetta against the network, whose franchise renewal he pledged to block. It sends a clear message: What Duterte wants, Duterte gets. And it is clear, with this brazen move to shut down ABS-CBN, that he intends to silence the critical media and intimidate everyone else into submission,” NUJP chair Nonoy Espina said in a statement.
‘Marcosian delusions’
Human rights group Karapatan said the NTC move was a “blatant attack on press freedom” and “truly abhorrent” as it came during a public health crisis.
“Amid the government’s militarist response to the pandemic, repeated threats of declaring martial law, the rapid shrinking of civic spaces in the country, and an intensified crackdown on dissent, the grave repercussions of the threats against ABS-CBN cannot be ignored. The Duterte regime is desperately fast-tracking its Marcosian delusions of a fascist dictatorship,” it said.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte had accepted an apology from the network regarding the non-airing of his election campaign propaganda and had “left its fate to both houses of Congress.”
Cabarios said in an interview with the Inquirer that the agency’s move to shut down a television network due to a lack of a franchise was unprecedented.
“As far as I can recall, this is the first time,” said Cabarios, who has spent almost four decades at the NTC. “Usually, we issue a CDO for violating the NTC’s rules.”
—WITH REPORTS FROM DJ YAP, MARLON RAMOS, LEILA B. SALAVERRIA AND JULIE M. AURELIO
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1270406/govt-shuts-abs-cbn-network-vows-comeback
Philippines forces top media network off air
Duterte is notorious for tangling with media outlets critical of his policies
The Philippines' top broadcaster ABS-CBN was forced off air on Tuesday over a stalled operating licence renewal, drawing fresh accusations that the authorities are cracking down on press freedom.
Since running afoul of President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016, ABS-CBN has seen proposals to extend its franchise languish in Congress as the leader repeatedly attacked the conglomerate in speeches.
Duterte is notorious for tangling with media outlets critical of his policies, sparking concern that press freedoms have been eroded in the Philippines.
"It's painful for us that we are being shut down, but it's also painful for millions of our countrymen who believe that our service is important to them," chairman Mark Lopez told viewers just before the main channel went dark.
Outside the company's broadcast compound, a handful of supporters waved placards against a backdrop of burning candles.
ABS-CBN's 25-year licence expired on Monday, but officials had previously given assurances the radio, TV and internet giant would be allowed to operate provisionally.
However, the National Telecommunications Commission's cease-and-desist order on Tuesday cited the expiration and said the outfit's operators would have to appeal for a return to the airwaves.
Early in his term, Duterte accused the network of failing to broadcast his 2016 campaign advertisements and not returning the payments made for them.
'Dark day'
Pressure groups said the shutdown order was an assault on the right to free speech, as the conglomerate broadcasts news coverage watched by millions daily.
The shutdown also comes as the nation battles to contain the coronavirus pandemic and an accompanying flood of online disinformation.
"This is a very serious blow to press freedom in the Philippines," said Carlos Conde of Human Rights Watch. "It's hard to think that Duterte doesn't have anything to do with this."
Amnesty International's Butch Olano said the move was "especially reckless as the country deals with the COVID-19 pandemic".
"This is a dark day for media freedom in the Philippines, reminiscent of martial law when the dictatorship seized control over news agencies."
It appeared the broadcaster would get its renewal after publicly apologising to Duterte earlier this year.
However, government lawyer Jose Calida had filed a legal case that sought ABS-CBN's immediate closure.
Although the Supreme Court has yet to rule on the case, Calida warned it would be unlawful for the broadcaster to operate after its licence expired.
Several major media outlets have suffered the consequences after battling Duterte.
Journalist Maria Ressa faces years behind bars, after publishing critical stories on her website Rappler - which is now also battling a government closure effort.
Both Rappler and ABS-CBN are accused of violating a constitutional ban on foreign ownership of mass media outlets, allegations they deny.
https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/philippines/philippines-forces-top-media-network-off-air-1.1588698517164
The Philippines' top broadcaster ABS-CBN was forced off air on Tuesday over a stalled operating licence renewal, drawing fresh accusations that the authorities are cracking down on press freedom.
Since running afoul of President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016, ABS-CBN has seen proposals to extend its franchise languish in Congress as the leader repeatedly attacked the conglomerate in speeches.
Duterte is notorious for tangling with media outlets critical of his policies, sparking concern that press freedoms have been eroded in the Philippines.
"It's painful for us that we are being shut down, but it's also painful for millions of our countrymen who believe that our service is important to them," chairman Mark Lopez told viewers just before the main channel went dark.
Outside the company's broadcast compound, a handful of supporters waved placards against a backdrop of burning candles.
ABS-CBN's 25-year licence expired on Monday, but officials had previously given assurances the radio, TV and internet giant would be allowed to operate provisionally.
However, the National Telecommunications Commission's cease-and-desist order on Tuesday cited the expiration and said the outfit's operators would have to appeal for a return to the airwaves.
Early in his term, Duterte accused the network of failing to broadcast his 2016 campaign advertisements and not returning the payments made for them.
'Dark day'
Pressure groups said the shutdown order was an assault on the right to free speech, as the conglomerate broadcasts news coverage watched by millions daily.
The shutdown also comes as the nation battles to contain the coronavirus pandemic and an accompanying flood of online disinformation.
"This is a very serious blow to press freedom in the Philippines," said Carlos Conde of Human Rights Watch. "It's hard to think that Duterte doesn't have anything to do with this."
Amnesty International's Butch Olano said the move was "especially reckless as the country deals with the COVID-19 pandemic".
"This is a dark day for media freedom in the Philippines, reminiscent of martial law when the dictatorship seized control over news agencies."
It appeared the broadcaster would get its renewal after publicly apologising to Duterte earlier this year.
However, government lawyer Jose Calida had filed a legal case that sought ABS-CBN's immediate closure.
Although the Supreme Court has yet to rule on the case, Calida warned it would be unlawful for the broadcaster to operate after its licence expired.
Several major media outlets have suffered the consequences after battling Duterte.
Journalist Maria Ressa faces years behind bars, after publishing critical stories on her website Rappler - which is now also battling a government closure effort.
Both Rappler and ABS-CBN are accused of violating a constitutional ban on foreign ownership of mass media outlets, allegations they deny.
https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/philippines/philippines-forces-top-media-network-off-air-1.1588698517164
KBP: Closing down ABS-CBN deprives public of news, relief amid COVID-19 crisis
The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) on Tuesday slammed the decision of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to halt the broadcast operations of ABS-CBN following the expiration of the network’s franchise.
“The decision is unfair not only to the network and the thousands who depend on the network for their livelihood but, even more important, to the millions of people served by the network through its broadcasting activities,” the national association of broadcasters of the Philippines said in a statement.
Closing down ABS-CBN during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic could not have come at a worse time, KBP said.
“ABS-CBN is performing a valuable service to the public in the midst of a public service emergency not only by providing important news and information to keep the public safe and prevent the spread of the coronavirus but also in giving the public much relief from the mental and emotional pressures of quarantine by continuing to broadcast its entertainment programs,” it said.
“Without warning, both the public and the government are deprived of that service. It creates an unnecessary distraction for both government and the private sector from focusing on saving lives and keeping people safe,” it added.
The KBP urged the government to allow the country’s largest entertainment and media conglomerate to operate under “equitable remedy” while the company’s franchise bills remains pending.
The group also called on Congress to expedite deliberation on ABS-CBN’s franchise bills that have languished at the House of Representatives.
Solicitor General Jose Calida earlier sought the high court to invalidate franchises of ABS-CBN Corp. and ABS-CBN Convergence citing alleged abuses, including supposed violations of restrictions on foreign ownership.
The Lopez-led network, which reaches millions of Filipinos through its television, radio and online platforms, said it had not broken the law in its 65-year service.
“We did not violate the law. This case appears to be an attempt to deprive Filipinos of the services of ABS-CBN,” the company said in a statement.
ABS-CBN and its subsidiaries have more than 11,000 employees.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/06/20/kbp-closing-down-abs-cbn-deprives-public-of-news-relief-amid-covid-19-crisis
“The decision is unfair not only to the network and the thousands who depend on the network for their livelihood but, even more important, to the millions of people served by the network through its broadcasting activities,” the national association of broadcasters of the Philippines said in a statement.
Closing down ABS-CBN during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic could not have come at a worse time, KBP said.
“ABS-CBN is performing a valuable service to the public in the midst of a public service emergency not only by providing important news and information to keep the public safe and prevent the spread of the coronavirus but also in giving the public much relief from the mental and emotional pressures of quarantine by continuing to broadcast its entertainment programs,” it said.
“Without warning, both the public and the government are deprived of that service. It creates an unnecessary distraction for both government and the private sector from focusing on saving lives and keeping people safe,” it added.
The KBP urged the government to allow the country’s largest entertainment and media conglomerate to operate under “equitable remedy” while the company’s franchise bills remains pending.
The group also called on Congress to expedite deliberation on ABS-CBN’s franchise bills that have languished at the House of Representatives.
Solicitor General Jose Calida earlier sought the high court to invalidate franchises of ABS-CBN Corp. and ABS-CBN Convergence citing alleged abuses, including supposed violations of restrictions on foreign ownership.
The Lopez-led network, which reaches millions of Filipinos through its television, radio and online platforms, said it had not broken the law in its 65-year service.
“We did not violate the law. This case appears to be an attempt to deprive Filipinos of the services of ABS-CBN,” the company said in a statement.
ABS-CBN and its subsidiaries have more than 11,000 employees.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/06/20/kbp-closing-down-abs-cbn-deprives-public-of-news-relief-amid-covid-19-crisis
ABS-CBN Corporation: Services
Television
Free to air
- ABS-CBN is the first flagship television network of ABS-CBN Corporation in the Philippines. Its programming is generalist with a locally and foreign-produced shows, ranging from news, current affairs, politics, sports, opinions, features and business, talk, public service, lifestyle, drama, reality, kids, religious, movies and home shopping programs.
- Studio 23 is the second flagship television network of ABS-CBN Corporation in the Philippines.
Digital
- Cinemo airs first-run and blockbuster feature films, original series and made-for-cable movies, sports-focused magazine and documentary series, comedy and occasional concert specials, and documentaries.
- Yey broadcasts animated television series, mostly children's programming, ranging from action to animated comedy.
Bill for Benguet split filed
A BILL creating a second legislative district in Benguet Province has been filed in the Congress.
Benguet caretaker and ACT-CIS Party-list Representative Congressman Eric Go Yap filed Monday evening, May 5, proposed House Bill no. 6615 titled “An Act Reapportioning the Province of Benguet into two Legislative Districts” during the regular session of the House of Representatives.
Yap, in his proposed bill, seeks to reapportion the lone district of Benguet to two districts.
Under the proposed bill, the first legislative district will be composed of Bokod, Itogon, Kabayan, Sablan, Tuba while the towns of Atok, Bakun, Buguias, Kapangan, Kibungan, La Trinidad, Mankayan, and Tublay will compose the second legislative district.
“This bill seeks to ensure equitable representation for the constituents of the province of Benguet in the legislature and the national government by creating a new legislative district,” the resolution added.
Under the proposed bill, the incumbent representative for the lone district of the province will continue to represent and serve the province until the representatives for two districts been elected and qualified.
The Commission of Election is also tasked to issue implementing rules and regulation to carry the implementation of the proposed measure.
Vice Governor Johnny Waguis said the Provincial Board of Benguet requested Yap to file the bill in Congress.
“There will be two votes in the passage of laws in the House. Another, there will be additional funding for the province,” he added.
The lawmaker stated a consultation was scheduled for the proposed measure last March however it didn’t pushed through due to the coronavirus disease crisis.
In 2019, Board Members of Benguet also requested to the late Congressman Nestor Fongwan Sr. to sponsor a bill for the creation of two legislative district of the province.
The Provincial Board resolution said “thirty-two years have passed since the effectivity of the 1987 Constitution and there has been significant development in the country that necessitates the increase of legislative districts especially in a province such as Benguet.”
Before his demise, Fongwan Sr. filed House Bill 05679, “An Act Providing for the Reapportionment of the Province of Benguet into two legislative districts”.
“Benguet has always been represented by one representative in Congress, despite its growth in population and also the corresponding increase in its economy. This fact is disadvantageous to the constituents because a single representative in Congress cannot closely respond to all the needs of the people,” the late Fongwan Sr. said.
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1855297/Baguio/Local-News/Bill-for-Benguet-split-filed
Benguet caretaker and ACT-CIS Party-list Representative Congressman Eric Go Yap filed Monday evening, May 5, proposed House Bill no. 6615 titled “An Act Reapportioning the Province of Benguet into two Legislative Districts” during the regular session of the House of Representatives.
Yap, in his proposed bill, seeks to reapportion the lone district of Benguet to two districts.
Under the proposed bill, the first legislative district will be composed of Bokod, Itogon, Kabayan, Sablan, Tuba while the towns of Atok, Bakun, Buguias, Kapangan, Kibungan, La Trinidad, Mankayan, and Tublay will compose the second legislative district.
“This bill seeks to ensure equitable representation for the constituents of the province of Benguet in the legislature and the national government by creating a new legislative district,” the resolution added.
Under the proposed bill, the incumbent representative for the lone district of the province will continue to represent and serve the province until the representatives for two districts been elected and qualified.
The Commission of Election is also tasked to issue implementing rules and regulation to carry the implementation of the proposed measure.
Vice Governor Johnny Waguis said the Provincial Board of Benguet requested Yap to file the bill in Congress.
“There will be two votes in the passage of laws in the House. Another, there will be additional funding for the province,” he added.
The lawmaker stated a consultation was scheduled for the proposed measure last March however it didn’t pushed through due to the coronavirus disease crisis.
In 2019, Board Members of Benguet also requested to the late Congressman Nestor Fongwan Sr. to sponsor a bill for the creation of two legislative district of the province.
The Provincial Board resolution said “thirty-two years have passed since the effectivity of the 1987 Constitution and there has been significant development in the country that necessitates the increase of legislative districts especially in a province such as Benguet.”
Before his demise, Fongwan Sr. filed House Bill 05679, “An Act Providing for the Reapportionment of the Province of Benguet into two legislative districts”.
“Benguet has always been represented by one representative in Congress, despite its growth in population and also the corresponding increase in its economy. This fact is disadvantageous to the constituents because a single representative in Congress cannot closely respond to all the needs of the people,” the late Fongwan Sr. said.
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1855297/Baguio/Local-News/Bill-for-Benguet-split-filed
'We will approve it!': Sotto says ABS-CBN franchise renewal should be brought to Senate
Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday said upper House approve the franchise renewal of media network ABS-CBN Corporation.
This, after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered ABC-CBN to “cease and desist” from broadcasting on television and radio, one day after the company’s 25-year operating franchise expired.
In a tweet hours after ABS-CBN went off air, Sotto said senators will approve the franchise renewal once it reaches them.
"ABS Franchise, bring it to the Senate, we will approve it!" he wrote.
"To begin with, it infringes on authority of the legislative branch of government, which is already in the process of deliberating the franchise. It also comes at a time when it has never been more important for government and media to be allies, not adversaries," he said in a statement.
"During this pandemic that continues to threaten the country, our people, and our economy, we need to be sending out vital lifesaving information to our people on a daily basis, something that mass media is in the best position to help us with," Gordon added.
According to Gordon, it is up to the judiciary to decide on any violation of the franchise agreement on the the part of ABS-CBN, if any.
Several other senators have condemned the NTC for stopping broadcast operations of ABS-CBN, months after the latter assured Congress that a provisional authority to operate would be given to the Philippines' largest media network.
NTC issued the order after Solicitor General Jose Calida warned the agency against issuing a temporary permit to operate for ABS-CBN.
Calida has asked the Supreme Court to invalidate ABS-CBN's franchise for its alleged Constitutional violations, but the high court has yet tot rule on the matter.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/05/20/we-will-approve-it-sotto-says-abs-cbn-franchise-renewal-should-be-brought-to-senate
This, after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered ABC-CBN to “cease and desist” from broadcasting on television and radio, one day after the company’s 25-year operating franchise expired.
In a tweet hours after ABS-CBN went off air, Sotto said senators will approve the franchise renewal once it reaches them.
"ABS Franchise, bring it to the Senate, we will approve it!" he wrote.
Meanwhile, Sen. Richard Gordon called the NTC's cease and desist order against ABS-CBN as "a transgression of freedom of speech and expression."ABS Franchise, bring it to the Senate, we will approve it!— Tito Sotto (@sotto_tito) May 5, 2020
"To begin with, it infringes on authority of the legislative branch of government, which is already in the process of deliberating the franchise. It also comes at a time when it has never been more important for government and media to be allies, not adversaries," he said in a statement.
"During this pandemic that continues to threaten the country, our people, and our economy, we need to be sending out vital lifesaving information to our people on a daily basis, something that mass media is in the best position to help us with," Gordon added.
According to Gordon, it is up to the judiciary to decide on any violation of the franchise agreement on the the part of ABS-CBN, if any.
Several other senators have condemned the NTC for stopping broadcast operations of ABS-CBN, months after the latter assured Congress that a provisional authority to operate would be given to the Philippines' largest media network.
NTC issued the order after Solicitor General Jose Calida warned the agency against issuing a temporary permit to operate for ABS-CBN.
Calida has asked the Supreme Court to invalidate ABS-CBN's franchise for its alleged Constitutional violations, but the high court has yet tot rule on the matter.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/05/20/we-will-approve-it-sotto-says-abs-cbn-franchise-renewal-should-be-brought-to-senate
Philippines largest TV network ABS-CBN ordered shut
ABS-CBN, the Philippines' largest television network, has been ordered to cease operations after President Rodrigo Duterte's allies in Congress refused to renew the station's 25-year licence.
In an order issued on Tuesday, the government agency tasked with awarding broadcasting licences said "absent a valid Congressional Franchise, as required by law", the network should stop its various television and radio operations.
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said ABS-CBN's license expired on May 4 and gave the station 10 days to respond.
In an interview with ABS-CBN's radio station, DZMM, NTC Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said that the order is "immediately executory", and Department of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra affirmed the legal opinion.
In a statement, which was first read on-air over DZMM, the ABS-CBN management said that it will abide by the order and will stop operation.
"We did not violate the law. This case appears to be an attempt to deprive Filipinos of the services of ABS-CBN," the company said in a statement.
After ABS-CBN files its response within the next 10 days, a hearing will be scheduled as soon as the coronavirus emergency lockdown in Metro Manila and other areas of the country is lifted.
On Sunday, Duterte's Solicitor-General Jose Calida issued a statement warning the NTC of prosecution if it did not carry out the closure order.
Calida, the top government lawyer, said there was no legal basis to give the company even a provisional licence as it awaited approval from Congress, which resumed its session on Monday after a recess.
Brazen clampdown of the freedom of the press
In a speech at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Congress member Arlene Brosas denounced the order as a "brazen clampdown of the freedom of the press."
Danilo Arao, journalism professor at the University of the Philippines, said that NTC's decision reflects that limits of its independence as a government body under the office of the president.
"This closure order is clearly an attack on press freedom and we should confront this head on. The administration should be exposed as the real enemy of press freedom," he told Al Jazeera.
With the shutdown, an estimated 11,000 employees of the company risk losing their jobs.
Two ABS-CBN employees, who spoke to Al Jazeera on the condition of anonimity, said they were in tears when the station signed off after the nightly news.
Since becoming president in June 2016, Duterte repeatedly expressed his disdain towards the television network, which is owned by one of the richest families in the Philippines.
Duterte claimed that ABS-CBN refused to run his political advertisements during the campaign season - allegations denied by the network.
ABS-CBN's coverage of Duterte's so-called war on drugs, which has killed thousands of people, also angered the Philippine president.
On many occasions, Duterte has threatened to block the renewal of the network's franchise, while suggesting the owners should sell the company to break the impasse. At the same time, he insisted his hand-picked leaders in Congress were free to decide on the issue.
Calida, the solicitor-general, maintained that the NTC has no power to issue any such licence to ABS-CBN, citing provisions in the Philippine Constitution which, he said, gave Congress "exclusive powers".
"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."
A 2003 Philippine Supreme Court decision also ruled that the NTC could not issue a provisional permit without the legislature's backing.
In a statement on Tuesday, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines denounced the "dastardly move" of the Duterte administration.
"All this stems from President Rodrigo Duterte's personal vendetta against the network, whose franchise renewal he pledged to block.
"It sends a clear message: What Duterte wants, Duterte gets. And it is clear, with this brazen move to shut down ABS-CBN, that he intends to silence the critical media and intimidate everyone else into submission."
The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) also issued a statement saying the move "is clearly a case of political harassment against a pillar of the Philippine democracy."
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/philippines-largest-tv-network-abs-cbn-ordered-shut-200505084440098.html
In an order issued on Tuesday, the government agency tasked with awarding broadcasting licences said "absent a valid Congressional Franchise, as required by law", the network should stop its various television and radio operations.
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said ABS-CBN's license expired on May 4 and gave the station 10 days to respond.
In an interview with ABS-CBN's radio station, DZMM, NTC Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said that the order is "immediately executory", and Department of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra affirmed the legal opinion.
In a statement, which was first read on-air over DZMM, the ABS-CBN management said that it will abide by the order and will stop operation.
"We did not violate the law. This case appears to be an attempt to deprive Filipinos of the services of ABS-CBN," the company said in a statement.
After ABS-CBN files its response within the next 10 days, a hearing will be scheduled as soon as the coronavirus emergency lockdown in Metro Manila and other areas of the country is lifted.
On Sunday, Duterte's Solicitor-General Jose Calida issued a statement warning the NTC of prosecution if it did not carry out the closure order.
Calida, the top government lawyer, said there was no legal basis to give the company even a provisional licence as it awaited approval from Congress, which resumed its session on Monday after a recess.
Brazen clampdown of the freedom of the press
In a speech at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Congress member Arlene Brosas denounced the order as a "brazen clampdown of the freedom of the press."
Danilo Arao, journalism professor at the University of the Philippines, said that NTC's decision reflects that limits of its independence as a government body under the office of the president.
"This closure order is clearly an attack on press freedom and we should confront this head on. The administration should be exposed as the real enemy of press freedom," he told Al Jazeera.
With the shutdown, an estimated 11,000 employees of the company risk losing their jobs.
Two ABS-CBN employees, who spoke to Al Jazeera on the condition of anonimity, said they were in tears when the station signed off after the nightly news.
Since becoming president in June 2016, Duterte repeatedly expressed his disdain towards the television network, which is owned by one of the richest families in the Philippines.
Duterte claimed that ABS-CBN refused to run his political advertisements during the campaign season - allegations denied by the network.
ABS-CBN's coverage of Duterte's so-called war on drugs, which has killed thousands of people, also angered the Philippine president.
On many occasions, Duterte has threatened to block the renewal of the network's franchise, while suggesting the owners should sell the company to break the impasse. At the same time, he insisted his hand-picked leaders in Congress were free to decide on the issue.
Calida, the solicitor-general, maintained that the NTC has no power to issue any such licence to ABS-CBN, citing provisions in the Philippine Constitution which, he said, gave Congress "exclusive powers".
"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."
A 2003 Philippine Supreme Court decision also ruled that the NTC could not issue a provisional permit without the legislature's backing.
In a statement on Tuesday, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines denounced the "dastardly move" of the Duterte administration.
"All this stems from President Rodrigo Duterte's personal vendetta against the network, whose franchise renewal he pledged to block.
"It sends a clear message: What Duterte wants, Duterte gets. And it is clear, with this brazen move to shut down ABS-CBN, that he intends to silence the critical media and intimidate everyone else into submission."
The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) also issued a statement saying the move "is clearly a case of political harassment against a pillar of the Philippine democracy."
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/philippines-largest-tv-network-abs-cbn-ordered-shut-200505084440098.html
ABS-CBN ceases TV and radio broadcast, asks for support from the Filipino people
By Joseph Almer Pedrajas
ABS-CBN, with all its TV and radio stations across the country, has gone off air around 7:50 p.m. of Tuesday.
This came after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a cease and desist order, directing the network to stop its operations, particularly broadcasting through its stations, after its 25-year congressional franchise expired on May 4.
Carlo Katigbak, president and CEO of ABS-CBN Corporation, called on the Filipino people to continue their support in an address he delivered through TV Patrol, ABS-CBN’s last program before the shut off.
“Mga Kapamilya, kung naging mahalaga sa inyo ang ABS-CBN, hinihingi po namin na tayo ay patuloy na magtulungan para mapanatili ang serbisyong naidudulot ng ating istasyon (To our Kapamilya, if ABS-CBN has become important to you, we ask for your support to be able to keep the service that the station brings),” he said.
“Alang alang po sa sa mahigit 11,000 nagtatrabaho sa ABS-CBN at sa kanilang mga pamilya na maaapektuhan ang kabuhayan. Alang alang po sa milyon-milyong Pilipino na kailangan ang serbisyo ng ABS-CBN, lalong lalo na sa panahon ng pinakamatinding krisis sa Pilipinas at sa buong mundo. Lalo na ngayon sa pinakamalalang sakit at gutom (This is for the sake of the 11,000 ABS-CBN workers and their families who will be affected, for the sake of the millions of Filipinos who need ABS-CBN’s service, most especially in this time of crisis in the Philippines and the whole word, in time of grave disease and hunger).”
Mark Lopez, the company’s chairman, added that while the shutdown “pained” them, he was grateful for viewers who have loved and supported them throughout the years.
“Samahan n’yo po kami sa panalangin na muling ibalik ang ABS-CBN upang tuluyan kaming makapaglingkod sa pamilya at sambayanang Pilipino (Join us as we pray for the return of ABS-CBN, so we could continue providing service to your families and the Filipino people),” he said.
After TV Patrol’s three hosts—Ted Failon, Bernadette Sembrano, and Noli de Castro—delivered their extro, the network then signed off by playing the country’s national anthem.
https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/05/05/abs-cbn-ceases-tv-and-radio-broadcast-asks-for-support-from-the-filipino-people/
ABS-CBN, with all its TV and radio stations across the country, has gone off air around 7:50 p.m. of Tuesday.
This came after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a cease and desist order, directing the network to stop its operations, particularly broadcasting through its stations, after its 25-year congressional franchise expired on May 4.
Carlo Katigbak, president and CEO of ABS-CBN Corporation, called on the Filipino people to continue their support in an address he delivered through TV Patrol, ABS-CBN’s last program before the shut off.
“Mga Kapamilya, kung naging mahalaga sa inyo ang ABS-CBN, hinihingi po namin na tayo ay patuloy na magtulungan para mapanatili ang serbisyong naidudulot ng ating istasyon (To our Kapamilya, if ABS-CBN has become important to you, we ask for your support to be able to keep the service that the station brings),” he said.
“Alang alang po sa sa mahigit 11,000 nagtatrabaho sa ABS-CBN at sa kanilang mga pamilya na maaapektuhan ang kabuhayan. Alang alang po sa milyon-milyong Pilipino na kailangan ang serbisyo ng ABS-CBN, lalong lalo na sa panahon ng pinakamatinding krisis sa Pilipinas at sa buong mundo. Lalo na ngayon sa pinakamalalang sakit at gutom (This is for the sake of the 11,000 ABS-CBN workers and their families who will be affected, for the sake of the millions of Filipinos who need ABS-CBN’s service, most especially in this time of crisis in the Philippines and the whole word, in time of grave disease and hunger).”
Mark Lopez, the company’s chairman, added that while the shutdown “pained” them, he was grateful for viewers who have loved and supported them throughout the years.
“Samahan n’yo po kami sa panalangin na muling ibalik ang ABS-CBN upang tuluyan kaming makapaglingkod sa pamilya at sambayanang Pilipino (Join us as we pray for the return of ABS-CBN, so we could continue providing service to your families and the Filipino people),” he said.
After TV Patrol’s three hosts—Ted Failon, Bernadette Sembrano, and Noli de Castro—delivered their extro, the network then signed off by playing the country’s national anthem.
https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/05/05/abs-cbn-ceases-tv-and-radio-broadcast-asks-for-support-from-the-filipino-people/
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
ABS-CBN's last moments before going off the air for now
At 7:52 p.m. on Tuesday, broadcast giant ABS-CBN’s Channel 2 and S&A officially went off air, hours after the National Telecommunications Commissions issued a cease and desist order against the network “due to the expiration of its congressional franchise.”
The NTC ordered the network to “to stop operating its various television and radio broadcasting stations nationwide.”
In compliance with the directive, the network decided to close down all its radio and television stations including, ABS-CBN, DZMM, MOR and DZMM Teleradyo.
The NTC gave ABS-CBN ten days upon receipt of the Order to explain why the frequencies assigned to it should not be recalled.
The 25-year franchise of ABS-CBN, granted on March 30, 1995 through Republic Act 7966, expired on Monday, May 4.
The historic shutdown came nearly five decades since it was shutdown after late dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law.
Minutes before the channel was replaced by static, ABS-CBN CEO and president Carlo Katigbak and chair Mark Lopez both delivered heartfelt speeches on the NTC’s order to halt broadcast on TV and radio aired on TV Patrol, also the last news program the network aired.
“Kaya mawawala na po sa ere ang ating ABS-CBN ginawa na po natin ang lahat ng requirements para sa renewal at wala rin po kaming nilabag na batas. Pati po ang Kongreso na ayon sa batas ay may kapangyarihan na magutos sa NTC na magbigay ng provision authority sa tv stations ay nagsabi po na bigyan na muna ang ABS-CBN ng provision authority marahil naintindhan ng ating mga mambabatas na mahalaga ang ating serbisyo lalong lalo na sa panahong ito,” Katigbak said.
Katigbak called on the public to voice their opinions on the network’s closure.
He dedicated ABS-CBN’s service to the millions of Filipinos who were serviced by the network as well as the thousands of workers whose livelihoods were affected by the network shutdown.
“Ipadama, isaad at ipadinig po natin ang ating nararamdaman sa pagsasara ng ating ABS-CBN. Sa oras na ito, kami naman po ang humihingi ng inyong pagdamay. Maraming salamat po, mga Kapamilya,” he said.
Lopez, for his part, likewise dedicated its service to the millions of Filipinos and recalled how the network has been serving the public especially during times of calamities, tragedies and now the coronavirus pandemic.
“Masakit sa amin na ipinasasara kami, pero masakit din ito para sa milyon-milyong kababayan natin naniniwalang ang aming serbisyo ay mahalaga sa kanila. Marami pa po tayong mga hangarin para sa mga Pilipino at sa ating bayan,” Lopez said.
Anchors of TV Patrol also gave their emotional final bows, minutes before the network went off air.
“Karangalan po namin na maglingkod sa inyo, kabayan. Hindi man na-renew ang aming prangkisa at pinatitigil ang ating broadcast, nangangako kami sa inyo na hindi kami mananahimik sa pagatakeng ito sa ating demokrasya at sa malayang pamamahayag,” veteran broadcast journalist Noli de Castro said.
“Sa harap po na pinakamalaking dako at hamon sa aming kumpanya at sa aming mga hanap-buhay, hinding hindi namin kayo tatalikuran, kabayan. Mga kapamilya kami. Tayo ang ABS-CBN. In the service of the Filipino. Saan man sila naroroon, sa buong mundo,” he also said.
The network immediately aired the Philippine national anthem which normally airs at midnight at the end of the broadcast day.
“This is ABS-CBN Corporation Channel 2, a commercial television station transmitting on a 346.2 kilowatt effective radiated power with permit number BSD 0121-2018 MOD authorizing the station to operate until December 31, 2020," their final title card read.
"This is ABS-CBN Corporation Channel 2, in the service of the Filipino, now signing off."
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/05/05/2012075/abs-cbns-last-moments-going-air-now
The NTC ordered the network to “to stop operating its various television and radio broadcasting stations nationwide.”
In compliance with the directive, the network decided to close down all its radio and television stations including, ABS-CBN, DZMM, MOR and DZMM Teleradyo.
The NTC gave ABS-CBN ten days upon receipt of the Order to explain why the frequencies assigned to it should not be recalled.
The 25-year franchise of ABS-CBN, granted on March 30, 1995 through Republic Act 7966, expired on Monday, May 4.
The historic shutdown came nearly five decades since it was shutdown after late dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law.
Minutes before the channel was replaced by static, ABS-CBN CEO and president Carlo Katigbak and chair Mark Lopez both delivered heartfelt speeches on the NTC’s order to halt broadcast on TV and radio aired on TV Patrol, also the last news program the network aired.
“Kaya mawawala na po sa ere ang ating ABS-CBN ginawa na po natin ang lahat ng requirements para sa renewal at wala rin po kaming nilabag na batas. Pati po ang Kongreso na ayon sa batas ay may kapangyarihan na magutos sa NTC na magbigay ng provision authority sa tv stations ay nagsabi po na bigyan na muna ang ABS-CBN ng provision authority marahil naintindhan ng ating mga mambabatas na mahalaga ang ating serbisyo lalong lalo na sa panahong ito,” Katigbak said.
Katigbak called on the public to voice their opinions on the network’s closure.
He dedicated ABS-CBN’s service to the millions of Filipinos who were serviced by the network as well as the thousands of workers whose livelihoods were affected by the network shutdown.
“Ipadama, isaad at ipadinig po natin ang ating nararamdaman sa pagsasara ng ating ABS-CBN. Sa oras na ito, kami naman po ang humihingi ng inyong pagdamay. Maraming salamat po, mga Kapamilya,” he said.
Lopez, for his part, likewise dedicated its service to the millions of Filipinos and recalled how the network has been serving the public especially during times of calamities, tragedies and now the coronavirus pandemic.
“Masakit sa amin na ipinasasara kami, pero masakit din ito para sa milyon-milyong kababayan natin naniniwalang ang aming serbisyo ay mahalaga sa kanila. Marami pa po tayong mga hangarin para sa mga Pilipino at sa ating bayan,” Lopez said.
Anchors of TV Patrol also gave their emotional final bows, minutes before the network went off air.
“Karangalan po namin na maglingkod sa inyo, kabayan. Hindi man na-renew ang aming prangkisa at pinatitigil ang ating broadcast, nangangako kami sa inyo na hindi kami mananahimik sa pagatakeng ito sa ating demokrasya at sa malayang pamamahayag,” veteran broadcast journalist Noli de Castro said.
“Sa harap po na pinakamalaking dako at hamon sa aming kumpanya at sa aming mga hanap-buhay, hinding hindi namin kayo tatalikuran, kabayan. Mga kapamilya kami. Tayo ang ABS-CBN. In the service of the Filipino. Saan man sila naroroon, sa buong mundo,” he also said.
The network immediately aired the Philippine national anthem which normally airs at midnight at the end of the broadcast day.
“This is ABS-CBN Corporation Channel 2, a commercial television station transmitting on a 346.2 kilowatt effective radiated power with permit number BSD 0121-2018 MOD authorizing the station to operate until December 31, 2020," their final title card read.
"This is ABS-CBN Corporation Channel 2, in the service of the Filipino, now signing off."
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/05/05/2012075/abs-cbns-last-moments-going-air-now
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