PH has ‘free, robust’ press, Palace assures US over concerns on ABS-CBN shutdown

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has a “free and robust” press, Malacañang said Friday after the US expressed concern over the closure of media network ABS-CBN.

US State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus earlier voiced concerns over ABS-CBN’s shutdown, pointing out the importance of an independent press in democratic nations.

“We share the view of the US State Department that an independent media is vital to democratic societies like the Philippines. This stance has never wavered on the part of the President and his Administration,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

“The Philippines, we assure our foreign friends and allies, continues to have a free and robust press where the critics and the political opposition remain vocal in their aversion to the current government,” Roque added.

ABS-CBN went off the air after it was ordered by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to stop its broadcast operations due to its stalled franchise renewal in Congress.

Roque reiterated that the network’s franchise renewal is in the hands of Congress and that the President is “neutral” on the issue.

“We, therefore, ask those who clamor for the continued operations of the network, whose broadcast franchise had lapsed, to lobby before their representatives in the august halls of Congress and make their voices be heard,” Roque said.

The shutdown earned criticism from lawmakers and groups who said the order was a grave threat to press freedom.

It also prompted the international group Human Rights Watch to prod Congress to stop sitting on the measures and put the network back on the air.

EDV