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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Drilon laments rejection of ABS-CBN franchise renewal

Drilon laments rejection of ABS-CBN franchise renewal

Published Jul 10, 2020 03:53 pm

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Friday expressed his disappointment over the House Committee on Legislative Franchises’ decision to disapprove the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN Corp., saying the move is reminiscent of the dark pages in the Philippine press history during martial law.

Senator Franklin Drilon (Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN)

“I am deeply saddened by this episode in the history of our nation. It is reminiscent of the dark pages in the history of Philippine press in 1972,” Drilon said in a statement.

Drilon pointed out democracy thrives when there is free press and when journalists can exercise complete freedom to do their mandate of reporting facts without fear.

“But with what happened to ABS-CBN, it has shown that the “sword of Damocles” can be unleashed any time,” the Senate Minority Leader lamented.

“After monitoring the exhaustive proceedings in the House of Representatives, I am more convinced that the only fault of ABS-CBN is it stepped on some powerful political toes, hence he sword has been unleashed on it,” he stressed.

Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara shared Drilon’s view, noting how the Bureau of Internal Review (BIR) and even the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) themselves cleared ABS-CBN from any possible violation of the law.

“We’ve seen how many government agencies have already said ABS-CBN did not commit any violations, like what the others were saying,” Angara said in a separate statement.

“This will have a negative impact not only on the media or broadcasting industry but likewise to the advertising and creative industries – producing, editing, musical scoring, acting, directing, set design, and others,” Angara lamented.

“Apart from this, it will also have a negative effect on press freedom and our democracy,” he also said.

Drilon said it is sad to know the fact that ABS-CBN would have to wait until 2022 when the new Congress is elected to apply again for a franchise renewal.

But he said ABS-CBN has been through this before during martial law in 1972. “I am confident that it can face this difficult trial once more,” Drilon stated.

“The ABS-CBN as an institution can survive this episode, no doubt, but the people whose livelihood depends on the network are the real casualties of this unfortunate and politically-charged event,” he stressed.

“The 11,000 workers losing jobs next month have families to feed, rent and mortgages to pay, and children to send to schools. They will suffer the consequences of the decision of the House of Representatives. This could have been avoided had the Congress granted the franchise renewal of the broadcasting network,” he lamented.

Read more: House committee denies new ABS-CBN franchise

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