Rage, disquiet, caution grip nation after ABS-CBN shutdown

(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines seems to be under a “de facto martial law” as evidenced by the latest attack against media giant ABS-CBN after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered its closure.

So said the lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives on Thursday as they noted that institutions such as the NTC as well as Congress only toed the line of President Duterte’s threat to take the TV network off the air.

Gabriela’s Arlene Brosas noted that ABS-CBN was last ordered closed under the dictatorship of former President Ferdinand Marcos.

“Ano ang indikasyon nito? Ano ang ibig sabihin nito? Dapat managot ang mga dapat managot dito dahil hindi naman aaksyon ang Kongreso, NTC, at ang ibang mga tao kung sasabihin ng Pangulo nang diretso na malayang makakapagahayag ang lahat,” the lawmaker said.

(What is the meaning of this. Those accountable should answer to this, because Congress, NTC, will not take action if the President will only say that all can report.)

Meanwhile, Minority deputy speaker and Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate said that it is the “height of duplicity” to say the President is neutral on the ABS-CBN issue when Duterte threatened to block the renewal of the media giant’s franchise.

“Ito ay ginawang cue ng mga nasa Kongreso, specifically, and House of Representatives para patulugin ang prangkisa ng ABS-CBN. Malinaw sa amin na hindi nangyari ito kung walang basbas ni ang Duterte,” he told reporters in an online press conference.

(The President’s threat was what lawmakers used as a cue to let franchise renewal bills for ABS-CBN languish in Congress. It is clear to us that this would not have happened without the blessing from Duterte.)

ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro echoed this, adding that the NTC, as well as Solicitor General Jose Calida, are just “puppets” of Duterte who follow his directives.

“Dapat talaga sisihin ito si President Duterte dito sa kanyang utos sa mga kaalyado sa Kongreso. Itong NTC, si Calida, mga tuta niya ito na sumusunod lang sa kanya,” she said.

(President Duterte is really to blame for this because of what he directed to his allies in Congress. NTC and Calida are also his puppets who follow his orders.)

Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago also deplored the timing of such an attack on ABS-CBN since the country is facing a pandemic where millions of people lost their jobs due to lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

She urged the government to “focus its efforts on the battle against COVID-19,” instead of attacking the press and prioritizing politics in a time of crisis.

“Sa panahon na milyun-milyon ang nawalan ng trabaho, nandyan pa ang mga delayed na ayuda para sa mga nangangailangan, ngayon pa natin dadagdagan itong pasakit sa ating mga manggagawa at lahat ng mga naghahanap buhay,” Elago said.

(In a time where millions of people have lost their jobs, relief aid is delayed, the government decided to add up to the plight of the laborers.)

“Sa panahon ngayon, ang kinakailangan ay hindi ang pag atake sa press, hindi pag atake sa kalaban sa pulitika, kundi ang pag-atake sa virus,” she added.

(During this time, we need to attack the virus, not the press or political enemies.)

Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite also noted that during a time when the public needs reliable source information, the government decides to order the closure of ABS-CBN.

He vowed that the Makabayan bloc would act accordingly to make the government accountable in what he called violations on the public’s democratic rights.

On Tuesday, May 5, the NTC issued a Cease and Desist Order against ABS-CBN after its legislative franchise expired on May 4, directing the network to stop operating its television and radio broadcasting stations nationwide “absent a valid Congressional Franchise required by law.”

ABS-CBN later that day went off the air to comply with the NTC order.

Other developments:

-A petition filed by media network ABS-CBN asked the Supreme Court to temporarily stop the implementation of the cease and desist order issued by the NTC. The business community expressed its concern over the network’s closure, stressing that the NTC order also gave the industry little time to recalibrate their advertising strategies. “The move was so sudden and everybody, more so, the large stakeholder entities, thinkers and planners were caught flatfooted,” Dan Villa, chair of advertising agency CreatiVilla, said in a statement.  “So it is panic time. At best, solutions now are mere palliatives with no immediate long-range plan in sight,” said Villa, a former chair of the Advertising Board of the Philippines and the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies-Philippines.

-At least thirteen senators on Thursday urged the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to reconsider the cease-and-desist order it issued against ABS-CBN after its franchise lapsed on May 4.In Senate Resolution No. 395, the senators had argued that there is precedent for entities whose franchises have expired to be allowed continued operations pending the approval of its franchise renewal. The lawmakers cited cases of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Broadcast and the Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp (PT&T).“Now more than ever, in the middle of the biggest public health crisis of our generation, the Filipino people deserve access to up-to-date news provided by a free and unfettered media, and multiple sources of information provide the best pathways for truth to emerge,” the resolution read. The senators further stressed that the cease-and-desist order against the network will impact thousands of its workers and create joblessness “that could not be more ill-timed given the looming economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

-Civilian and military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have been reminded to observe proper behavior online amid various issues swirling around social media.
This reminder, AFP said on Thursday, was mentioned in an official message from the Office of the AFP Chief of Staff to the different commanders of the major services and unified commands dated May 6.Aside from citing a social media use policy in 2016 which calls for proper etiquette and a high standard of conduct, the letter said that all “AFP military, civilian human resource, to include dependents, are directed to practice caution in publicizing personal opinion especially when engaging in social media activities”. AFP did not mention any particular issue, but social media recently has been rife with various posts about the shutdown of media giant ABS-CBN, with the death of an ex-military man with mental illness at the hands of a police officer, and the administration’s policy direction towards the COVID-19 pandemic.

-Senator Leila de Lima said that Duterte and his allies in Congress are responsible for the shutting down of ABS-CBN, despite several lawmakers acting “as if they are sympathetic” and blaming the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for issuing the cease-and-desist order.The Duterte administration, she said, is the only administration that will allow the shutting down of a company that is helping us out amid the pandemic and is the only administration that takes away the jobs of thousands. Duterte has been saying again and again that we do not have money but they closed down one of the country’s biggest taxpayers.

-Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the President is not inclined to veto ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal bill once it arrives on his desk if it has no constitutional infirmity. “Unless there is any Constitutional infirmity, I don’t think the President is inclined to veto it,” said in an online press briefing. Roque added that the President had already done all that he could by maintaining neutrality and asking his allies in Congress to vote with their conscience on ABS-CBN’s impending franchise renewal.

-Senator Grace Poe said lawmakers were “blindsided” by the cease-and desist-order of the NTC against ABS-CBN despite its earlier assurance that the network will continue its operations pending its franchise renewal. “I think that we were all really blindsided by the order of the National Telecommunication Commission because it was against their pronouncements when they were in the Senate,” Poe, chair of the Senate public services committee, said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel.

-While President Rodrigo Duterte should not be faulted for the closure of ABS-CBN, Senator Manny Pacquiao said he is hoping the chief executive would talk to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to reverse its order against the network. But Pacquiao believes Duterte could still do something to reverse the NTC’s order.

-Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman said the President’s alleged neutral stand on the ABS-CBN franchise issue is not enough for the supermajority in the House of Representatives to act on the network’s shutdown, an opposition lawmaker said on Thursday. Instead,  he said that the President should not give “ambivalent” remarks that would not give the go-signal for lawmakers to deliberate bills on the ABS-CBN franchise renewal. According to Lagman, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s insistence of Duterte’s neutrality does not convey a message that the House should settle the issue — especially since Duterte’s criticism of the network allegedly served as a sign to ignore discussions of the franchise. “It was President Rodrigo Duterte’s repeated pronouncements that he is opposed to the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise and he is not going to sign a bill granting any renewal which inveigled the leadership of the House of Representatives to unduly temporize on the renewal of the franchise and allowed the same to expire,” the lawmaker said. “A posture of neutrality is still ambivalent and may not convey the exact message which the House leadership is waiting for. It is not that the Members of the House should be prodded to act based on their conscience, but since the President was the first to muddle the issue on renewal, then it is incumbent on him to unravel the controversy,” he added,

(Reports from Daphne Galvez, Christia Ramos, Gabriel Pabico Lalu, Maila Ager, Krissy Aguilar, Ian Biong and Tetch Torres-Tupas)

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