Group to Congress: Renew ABS-CBN franchise for sake of people, environment 

File photo by RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — Saying it was for the good of the people and the environment, an environmental group has expressed its support for ABS-CBN and called on Congress to renew its broadcasting franchise.

“ABS-CBN provides wide and strong platforms to communicate the importance of the environment, including the realities that have caused environmental destruction,” the Green Thumb Coalition (GTC) said in a statement last Jan. 24.

“It is a vital part of environmental advocacy that resulted in increased awareness to address issues and mobilize the citizenry towards critical engagement and environmental governance,” the coalition added.

The GTC cited that the network’s shows and programs showcase the country’s “rich biodiversity.”

“It etches in the nation’s psyche that there is a parallel importance of environment and sustainable development; that the country’s resources should be used to benefit the present and future generations of Filipinos,” the GTC said.

“By raising red flags on the disastrous consequence of large-scale mining, dirty and harmful energy such as coal plants, massive land conversion and deforestation by way of news reporting, ABS-CBN mainstreams the silent testimonies of the forests, seas and the skies; giving them the ‘voice.’”

The uncertainty surrounding the media giant’s fate was brought about by President Rodrigo Duterte’s adamant declarations, saying he would not sign any law to renew the network’s franchise.

Under Republic Act 3846, radio and television companies must secure a franchise from the government before they can operate.

ABS-CBN’s franchise is set to expire on March 30.

While the GTC said that the network was “far from perfect” as it had its fair share of criticism, what sets ABS-CBN apart from the others was being at the “forefront of environmental and nation-building advocacy.”

The GTC particularly cited the late Environment Secretary Gina Lopez, who, the group said, was “instrumental” in shaping the network’s public service programs.

By rejecting ABS-CBN’s franchise, Congress would shut down “such programs and similar endeavors in the pipeline despite its role in complementing the country’s general welfare thrusts.”

“Indeed, both the Executive Department and Congress’s inaction to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise is not only an affront to a free press, unhindered by political pressures, it is equally an attack on an institution that has taken the cudgels for the environment,” the GTC said.

“A decision to silence ABS-CBN is a decision to silence all its public service programs. It is by no stretch a decision to silence the cries of the environment,” the GTC added.

The GTC then urged Congress to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise “now,” adding that it was  “for the people, for the environment.”

Edited by JPV