Mindanao journalists slam NTC’s shutdown order vs ABS-CBN

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Mindanao journalists joined protests against the order to shut down ABS-CBN and called for immediate government action to allow the media giant to resume its operations.

They said the role of ABS-CBN, which operates a regional network of stations apart from its flagship station channel 2 on free-to-air TV in Metro Manila, is especially critical as the country continues to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

“[The National Telecommunication Commission’s] action is completely inimical to the 11,000 plus workers of ABS-CBN, coming as it did as the country is still grappling from the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis,” the Mindanao Independent Pres Council (MIPC) said on Wednesday, May 6, in a statement circulated by Mindanao journalists. 

MIPC is one of Mindanao’s biggest network of journalists and press clubs, which has provided a unified voice on press freedom issues in the region. 

Radio journalist Menzie Montes said she sympathized with ABS-CBN’s employees. She said the government agencies should have exhausted all avenues to allow ABS-CBN to prepare its employees for the possibility of losing their jobs.

MIPC president Edith Caduaya called on Congress to take immediate action to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise. (READ: Lawmakers blame Cayetano for ABS-CBN shutdown)

“We are therefore calling on Congress to immediately remedy the situation by approving ABS-CBN’s application renewal with due haste, and for NTC to issue a temporary permit while the matter is being tackled by our legislators,” Caduaya said. 

“Any delay would be taken as a deliberate muzzling of a vital member of the press, and an assault on the Constitutional right to free speech and of the freedom of the press. Time is of the essence. The public needs a vibrant press and one less vital medium would be disservice to all Filipinos who should be provided with all the important information at this time of national crisis,” Caduaya said.

MIPC said it was alarmed and suprised by NTC’s move despite an expectation to that ABS-CBN will be granted a provisional authority to operate – based on recommendations from the Senate and the House of Representatives – while its franchise renewal remains pending in Congress. (READ: House panel warns NTC of contempt for not allowing ABS-CBN to keep operating)

NTC’s shutdown order also came a week after Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said there was no move to shut down the network.

“While we understand that the network’s franchise is under scrutiny, we believe that standing legal and administrative issues should be best left to the courts and to Congress, which has a final say on legislative franchises,” Caduaya said.

Groups and residents echoed the journalists’ concerns. Lawyer Beverly Musni of Karapatan Northern Mindanao said the shutdown order was an attack against the public’s right to information. 

Musni called on the people  to speak up. “They must resist any direct attack to the fundamental freedom of the press, more so if such is a state-sponsored attack (like) the closure of ABS-CBN,” Musni said. 

“To be silent is to lose the chance of surviving the pandemic,” he said. – Rappler.com