ABS-CBN Shutdown Blasted As Ill-timed, Heartless, Treacherous, Oppressive, A Vendetta And Diversionary Tactic

The Duterte administration – not just the National Telecommunications Commission  and Solicitor General Jose Calida – are facing criticism following the NTC’s decision to shut down media giant ABS-CBN Corp. on Tuesday, May 5, while the country is struggling to deal with the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic.

Can the NTC and Calida act on their own, without orders from higher authorities? Malacañang, through presidential spokesman Harry Roque, sought to distance itself from the NTC’s move that critics branded as ill-timed given the COVID-19 crisis.

Some quarters point out that the timing of the shutdown is perfect if the government is to avoid any protests – at least on the streets – since people, with or without quarantine rules, are reluctant to come out and express their outrage en masse.

Others suspect political vendetta, although President Duterte previously said in public that he had forgiven ABS-CBN for what he considered as unfair practices.

Still others wonder if the government is hiding something and the closure is a diversionary tactic.

With many jobs already in peril due to the COVID-19 pandemic, concern has been raised over the plight of ABS-CBN employees.

Critics wonder why the NTC issued the order after telling Congress that ABS-CBN would be given provisional authority to continue broadcasting.

The NTC order

The NTC issued the order on Tuesday, May 5, a day after the expiration of the franchise of the network.

“Upon expiration of (Republic Act No.) 7966, ABS-CBN Corporation no longer has a valid franchise,” read the four-page order, referring to the 1995 law that granted the broadcasting company a 25-year franchise.

NTC commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba and deputy commissioners Edgardo Cabarios and Delilah Deles signed the order.

It also directed the network to show cause in writing within 10 days why its frequencies should not be recalled for lack of a congressional franchise as required by law.

In a statement, the NTC said its regional offices would implement the closure order in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

A hearing of the case will be scheduled “at the earliest time after the enhanced community quarantine is lifted by the government,” the order stated.

The ECQ was imposed over various areas in the country to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It prohibits mass gatherings, among other guidelines, as physical distancing is one of the measures seen to be effective in controlling the virus transmission.

ABS-CBN goes off air

ABS-CBN went off the air on Tuesday night, after its early evening newscast, in compliance with the NTC order. Company chairman Mark Lopez and president and chief executive officer Carlo Katigbak bade the viewers and listeners goodbye, promising that the network would continue serving the nation.

In a statement, the country’s largest media network asked why the NTC order was issued despite earlier legislative resolutions assuring the company that a provisional authority to operate would be issued pending the renewal of its broadcast license. 

Several bills for the renewal of its franchise are pending at the House of Representatives. All legislative franchises must originate from the lower chamber.

Both the NTC and ABS-CBN said the order is immediately executory and covers 42 television stations across the country, including the flagship Channel 2, 10 digital broadcast channels, 18 FM stations and five AM stations, including dzMM radio. The teleradyo, ANC and cable services are not covered by the franchise and will continue.

“Millions of Filipinos will lose their source of news and entertainment when ABS-CBN is ordered to go off-air on TV and radio… when people need crucial and timely information as the nation deals with the COVID-19 pandemic,” ABS-CBN said.

It also cited Senate Resolution No. 40 passed on March 4, the House committee on legislative franchises’ letter to the NTC saying it should give ABS-CBN provisional authority, the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s guidance to the NTC on the matter, and an earlier statement by Cordoba on ABS-CBN’s continued operations.

DOJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra had said that Congress may authorize the NTC to issue a provisional authority allowing ABS-CBN to operate.

Lawmakers earlier said the network may be allowed to operate while Congress is hearing the pending bills for its renewal.

On Tuesday night, Cabarios told “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV’s One News channel that recent opposition to the NTC’s original stand on the issue prompted the commission to issue the order. He did not specify the source of the opposition.

Calida on Sunday warned NTC officials that they could face graft charges if they heeded the request of lawmakers to issue a provisional authority allowing ABS-CBN to operate.

Calida earlier filed a quo warranto petition before the Supreme Court seeking the revocation of the network’s franchise over supposed violations. The case is still pending.

Read more: Pinning down ABS-CBN through a quo warranto case
A matter of jurisdiction: Who should resolve ABS-CBN’s issues?

Roque said ABS-CBN’s “continued operation is entirely up to the NTC in the absence of a franchise and that Duterte left the network’s fate to Congress even as he previously threatened to close the company for alleged unfair practices.

"Let the public be informed that broadcast franchises are within the authority of Congress. It has discretion on what to do with the legislative franchise of ABS-CBN and other broadcasting companies similarly situated," Roque added.

Opposition mounts

The NTC order drew flak from various groups, including several lawmakers who supported the issuance of a provisional authority to the network.

Danilo Arao, journalism professor at the University of the Philippines, said the order is an unacceptable move that is clearly an attack on press freedom.

“Right now, we are in the midst of the pandemic and we cannot deny the fact that ABS-CBN has a relatively wide reach,” he said in a phone interview with The Philippine STAR.

“The most prudent thing that the government can do… is to allow it to operate so that it can help disseminate information at a time when people need credible and reliable information from the media,” he added.

In the context of the pandemic, Arao said the NTC decision comes as a surprise considering the network’s wide audience that may be maximized in communicating relevant information about the public health emergency.

“The closure of ABS-CBN had been a distinct possibility before the lockdown. But at this particular time, we expected that the government would be a little less brazen about its disgust for ABS-CBN. But apparently, the brazenness of the administration knows no bounds,” he lamented.

Labor group Defend Jobs Philippines said the NTC order “against the Kapamilya network is a clear betrayal to the station’s more than 11,000 workers and their families.”

“The NTC and the national government are moving like thieves in the night while the station, its workers and the public are busy in facing the pandemic,” Defend Jobs Philippines spokesperson Thadeus Ifurung argued.

“The order is a clear attack not just on press freedom and the people’s right to information, but also a direct aggressive action against the livelihoods of thousands of Filipino workers of ABS-CBN across the country and their families who are depending on them,” he said.

Human rights group Karapatan described the order as “abhorrent,” pointing out the crucial role of a free press in keeping the public informed on relevant, verified and life-saving information about the pandemic.

Hashtags such as #NoToABSCBNShutdown, #DefendPressFreedom and #IStandWithABSCBN trended on Twitter on Tuesday night.

“This is the kind of government we have,” the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) stated.

NUJP said the “dastardly move” came two days after we World Press Freedom Day and after Calida warned the NTC of graft charges should it allow the network to operate beyond the expiration of its franchise.

According to NUJP, all this stems from Duterte’s personal vendetta against the network, whose franchise renewal he pledged to block.

NUJP said the NTC order is a slap on Congress and sends a clear message: “What Duterte wants, Duterte gets.”

“But just as the independent press survived and triumphed with the people over the Marcos dictatorship, we are certain that we shall do so again, that this regime that has run roughshod over our laws and disregarded our basic rights and liberties will not succeed,” NUJP declared.

The Concerned Artists of the Philippines appealed to legislators and government officials to stand by freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and the economic security of media and creative industry workers.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers Philippines strongly denounced the Duterte administration's blatant display of its hunger for absolute power, saying “it is our and the entire Filipino's duty to #DefendPressFreedom and demand that the government uphold democracy especially so in the time of crisis.”

The Human Rights Watch said the development came at worst possible time and that the NTC should rescind the order.

“The Solicitor General should stop acting like Duterte’s attack dog. The Philippine Congress, which earlier agreed to consider an extension of the franchise, should assert its mandate and authority over matters like this. The Filipino people should reject this despotic move to harass and silence a media organization,” Phil Robertson, HRW deputy Asia director, added.

The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines condemned the NTC order, saying “it is clearly a case of political harassment against a pillar of Philippine democracy.”

House panel to summon NTC

The House committee on legislative franchises is set to summon officials of the NTC over the cease and desist order.

Panel chair and Palawan Rep. Chikoy Alvarez said they plan to issue a show cause order against NTC executives “to explain why they should not be held in contempt” after “disregarding the commitments they gave under oath.”

Alvarez expressed belief that the NTC succumbed to pressure from the Office of the Solicitor General to stop the network’s operations.

“We would like to make it clear that Congress takes this matter very seriously, as it directly challenges our exclusive constitutional authority to grant, deny, extend, revoke or modify broadcast franchises. Including having the primary jurisdiction to make an initial determination on whether an application for a legislative franchise should be granted or denied,” he stressed.

Senators also condemned the NTC move, calling it a grave abuse of authority and contrary to law.

The senators expressed shock that the NTC reneged on its commitment to the Senate and the House last March that it would immediately issue a provisional permit to ABS-CBN once its franchise expired, even as they suggested that the network bring the matter to the SC.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri branded the directive as “irregular and improper in this time of national pandemic, that we would cut off a major television station that provides information dissemination as well as information gathering.”

“I’m really saddened by the move of NTC. I said I’d do the same if it happened to GMA or TV5,” Zubiri said.

Sen. Sonny Angara described the move as “ill-advised and heavy-handed from the standpoint of law and public policy.”

“There is the risk of many people losing their jobs or livelihoods in what is a very difficult economic environment,” Angara said in a statement.

Sen. Grace Poe, chairperson of the committee on public services, emphasized that ABS-CBN and other networks “continue to pay their talents even if they’re not working.”

“With this development, and with no security of their revenue stream in the coming months, I’m afraid many will lose that benefit of having some sort of support while there’s no work,” Poe said.

Sen. Bong Revilla, chairman of the committee on public information and mass media, said the order “is sadly not in accordance with its commitment to Congress.”

“This is something we’ve been wanting to avoid long before, when we knew that Congress needed to act immediately on the franchise, and we could have avoided reaching this point,” Revilla said.

Sen. Joel Villanueva noted that the NTC had granted provisional authority to other firms with expired franchises.

“The current resolution of NTC is disappointing. To issue this in the time of COVID-19, when people need jobs to survive the pandemic, is just heartless, considering that congressional hearings have shown that the station has not violated any law to justify the non-extension of franchise,” Villanueva said.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan also condemned the NTC for “this arbitrary exercise of governmental power.”

“This is ridiculous. In the middle of a pandemic, the government is preoccupied with this,” Pangilinan said, noting that millions of Filipinos have already lost their jobs because of the enhanced community quarantine.

“Given the circumstances, this cease and desist order by the NTC is ill-timed and insensitive to the needs of the public. The delivery of timely and correct information is essential to our COVID-19 response. This shutdown order goes against public welfare,” Sen. Risa Hontiveros said.

Go to SC

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the NTC’s order could be challenged for grave abuse of discretion.

“The SC itself has said provisional authority can be authorized to be issued where the application for renewal of the franchise is pending,” Drilon said.

The ABS-CBN poses no harm. There is enough authority for the NTC to issue a provisional authority.

Drilon said the NTC issued Memorandum Order No. 032020 on March 18, saying that all existing permits, certificates, licenses, including radio operation certificates to operate radio communication equipment, networks and facilities, government or private, in various radio services issued by the agency expiring within March 15, 2020 to April 14, 2020 or during the ECQ period shall continue to be valid after 60 days, after the end of the ECQ.

“On its surface, it would appear that the licenses issued by the NTC are automatically extended by 60 days if this circular will apply and yet, ABS-CBN was singlehandedly prohibited from continuing to operate,” Drilon said.

“My suggestion is ABC-CBN should immediately challenge this abuse of discretion on the part of the NTC. They have the authority but it can be questioned because it is not in accordance with the jurisprudence and it is a grave abuse of discretion, to say the least. The remedy is to challenge this order before the SC and hopefully, the SC issues a TRO (temporary restraining order) because no one is prejudiced by the temporary suspension of the cease and desist order.” – With Paolo Romero, Edu Punay