Adios to ABS-CBN? If President Duterte sees his plans through.
Will the Philippines say goodbye soon to the broadcast giant? What will happen to the Filipinos if that happens?
No exaggeration, almost 100% of Filipinos rely on this network as well as the other giant for news and entertainment.
Cable companies might have penetrated this nation, but there’s nothing that can take these media giants down.
Well, maybe President Duterte.
According to the Philippine Star, with this boorish and unpredictable president, no one is really safe from his anti-oligarch stance or outburst.
Not even a broadcast giant that has years of history in the country such as ABS-CBN.
It is unclear whether the corporation will say adios now, but what is quite clear that the President will want to see that intention through.
His dislike of the company is actually no contest.
ABS-CBN Sabotaged Duterte?
He said so himself!
An angry Duterte recently spat out that he will see to it that the company will go out. Why? because the Lopez-owned network did not air his political ads way back during the elections in 2016.
Considering the fact that he did win despite that, his popularity is truly something.
The accusations against ABS-CBN can be true or not, but to close it down based on that alone can be quite alarming!
The broadcast giant remains a watchdog in the Philippine society despite its flaws or limitations. For it to be closed down is going to be a big deal.
Its role as a checker of what the government cannot be ignored.
Shut Down Threatens Democracy
Even though the Philippines already underwent different administrations, democracy has so far been sustained because of ABS-CBN and other news outfits.
As such, the threat to close it down should not be taken lightly. It certainly does not deserve it.
ABS-CBN has its limitations, but it does have rights. It also has done so much for the country.
This threat to the company could very well be a threat to democracy.
The root cause of the issue is not even just Duterte’s audacity or tyranny. Instead, the issue is the need to get congressional approval for a franchise.
This is an issue of conflicts of interest because Malacañang’s allies now dominate the Congress, and now it might be the one to give the approval to close down the franchise. That seems unethical.
Under the Philippine laws, however, commercial broadcasting corporations have first to secure a legislative franchise to start and continue operations.
Therefore, unlike in the United States and probably in other countries, broadcasting companies in the Philippines have to go through Congress to continue operating their franchises.
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