The University’s journalism professors denounced media shutdown as “the work of dictators,” after ABS-CBN officially went off-air yesterday evening, the second time in history since late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ Martial Law.
Photo from Christian Esguerra
“Now that ABS-CBN is out of the airwaves, and for the second time since Martial Law, there is no more denying that the Duterte regime will stop at nothing—even amid a national emergency and a crippling lockdown—to crush dissent and stifle a free and independent media,” their statement read.
The National Telecommunications Commission’s (NTC) issuance of cease-and-desist order prompted the immediate closure of ABS-CBN whose franchise expired on May 4.
“Duterte has declared a war on the free press and this is his Pearl Harbor Attack. Lawmakers and the NTC had led the public to believe that ABS-CBN would be allowed to operate beyond the expiration of its license,” the professors said.
On March 11, NTC said it would issue a provisional authority which will allow the network to operate until June 2020 while the latter’s franchise renewal is still under Congress deliberation.
The professors said that running the clock out on ABS-CBN and forcibly shutting it down is an “insidious strategy” at a time in which dissemination of news is vital in informing the public about the ongoing pandemic and government’s exercise of its authority.
“We stand with ABS-CBN and urge it to exert all legal remedies to overturn NTC’s cease-and-desist order, and call on lawmakers, particularly members of the House of Representatives, to stop foot-dragging and approve a new franchise for ABS-CBN,” they said.
Free press and free expression, according to the journalism professors, are guaranteed only if granting broadcast franchises will be depoliticized and delegated to an independent regulatory agency.
They also urged the public to speak out, resist media attacks, and “hold the malevolent forces behind this treachery to account.”
Students echo educators
University of Santo Tomas (UST) Journalism Society also condemned the NTC’s “traitorous act” of halting ABS-CBN broadcasting operations.
READ: UST JOURNALISM SOCIETY STATEMENT ON THE CEASE AND DESIST ORDER ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS…
UST Journalism Societyさんの投稿 2020年5月5日火曜日
“The move of the NTC is a clear manifestation of the government’s agenda to silence the media and discourage critical reporting,” the student organization said in their statement following their professors’.
“Silencing ABS-CBN should not be the priority of this government when a virus, not the television network, is the enemy,” they added.
Claiming to advocate for the struggles of the ordinary people while stripping the job off the 11,000 workers of ABS-CBN corporation only reflects the “Janus-faced nature of the administration,” the student organization said.
In February, President Duterte and Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa both claimed to have taken into consideration the welfare of the 11,000 workers who would lose their jobs after the network’s closure.
“For now, the network may be off the air, but the truth will always come out loud and clear,” they said. “History has never been kind to tyrants.”
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