Unless ABS-CBN is allowed to operate anew, the damage done to the country’s democratic institutions due to the television network’s closure can never be repaired, former vice president Jejomar “Jojo” Binay said.
Binay made the statement on Wednesday (May 5), exactly a year after the network was shut down by the government.
“But we cannot expect legislators who served as the network’s executioners to perform such an act that would sanitize their conscience,” he said.
For Binay, the television network’s closure should be seen and remembered “as proof that even in the midst of the pandemic, there are those in positions of power who see opportunities to pursue a clear political project, confident that the existing state of affairs will preclude any expression of outrage outside the realm of social media. “
The politicians who pushed for the closure of ABS-CBN have deprived millions of Filipinos, particularly those in far-flung areas, of access to news and information from which they could make potent and sometimes life-saving decisions, according to the former vice president.
“That is on the conscience of the network’s executioners,” Binay, who is also a lawyer, said.
He stressed that the closure of ABS-CBN is a violation of the Constitution.
“It has been argued that the network’s closure does not constitute a violation of the Constitution. This is not correct. Section 4 of the Bill of Rights assures and protects freedom of expression, and according to the late constitutionalist Fr. Joaquin Bernas Jr., freedom of expression provides two guarantees: a prohibition on prior restraint and a prohibition on subsequent punishment,” he explained.
“From this viewpoint, the closure of ABS-CBN can be seen as a form of subsequent punishment. The network has been made to pay severely for news reports and commentaries criticizing government policies, agencies, and personalities,” he continued.
Binay pointed out that the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression - press freedom in particular - “takes precedence over the hurt feeling of elected officials."