Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan on Monday, July 12, stressed the need of electing the "right" representatives for Filipinos to prevent a repeat of the closure of giant broadcast network ABS-CBN.
Pangilinan called on voters to choose candidates who would ensure that the country's needs are being prioritized over personal interests, recalling the rejection of the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN in the House of Representatives last year
"The decision came in the middle of a global pandemic where two things are of utmost importance: information and jobs. Many areas in the country went quiet and without easily accessible information just to satisfy the whims of the few. The people of ABS-CBN lost the latter right when job security and their jobs are crucial," the opposition senator lamented.
Pangilinan said that with less than three months before the deadline of voter's registration for the 2022 elections, he was reminded of how some lawmakers decided on the fate of ABS-CBN.
On July 10, 2020, 70 members of the House Committee on Legislative Franchises, mostly of the Malacañang-backed majority bloc, voted against giving the ABS-CBN a new franchise. This resulted in the network's shutdown.
Some 11,000 workers were displaced when the network signed off.
While he praised the "undaunted" ABS-CBN for continuing to operate, he maintained his appeal for the grant of a franchise to the network.
"There is also another solution: by making sure we put the right people in power come 2022," Pangilinan told voters.
"Let us register to vote and elect leaders who will make decisions not for personal and political gain, but because it is the will of their constituents. Because it is the right thing to do," he appealed.
"We have 80 days left to reach as many as we can, so we can make sure that this will not happen again," he further said.
Voter registration ends on September 30, 2021, with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) still hoping that more Filipinos will sign up to vote in the May, 2022 national and local polls.
So far, 4.3 million new voters have already registered, adding to the 60 million voters currently in the list of the Comelec.