Should Closure of ABS-CBN Be Mourned?

Volume 1, Issue No. 42

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail. com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . .

Our latest as of Friday, May 8, 2020 

~ "In the service of the Filipino," the slogan of the now-defunct ABS-CBN network, did not work wonders as to coax its huge following to rescue the broadcast giant, marketed as "the Philippines' largest network," from its downfall. The supremacy of the law took a toll on the Manila-based media and entertainment empire to the delight of its many critics. Its president and CEO issued a last-ditch appeal for public support.

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SUDDENLY IT'S "OUR" ABS-CBN

A CEO's Pathetic Appeal to Emotions

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“Even a witch wants sympathy.” ― Franny Billingsley

TORONTO -  After losing on the legal front, broadcast giant ABS-CBN has turned to its entertainment bailiwick, casting itself as a victim of government high-handedness and appealed for mass support to continue its work "in the service of the Filipino".

But after listening to Carlo Katigbak, the president and chief executive officer of ABS-CBN Corp., mouthed a farewell paean to the nation, it convinces me that the broadcast giant truly deserves what had befallen it three days earlier.

Everybody now knows that by operation of Philippine law, the Manila-based media and entertainment empire is dead in the water as of May 5, 2020, a casualty of its own undoing and wickedness. Published, but unconfirmed, reports claimed a total of 42 radio and TV stations nationwide were affected by the closure. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABS-CBN).

As the death knell loomed in the horizon on Tuesday, Katigbak issued a last appeal to the network's loyal patrons: "Ipadama, isaad at ipadinig po natin ang ating nararamdaman sa pagsasara ng ating ABS-CBN. Sa oras na ito, kami na man po ang humihingi na inyong pagdamay". (Loosely translated: Let's make our feelings on the closure of our ABS-CBN felt, told, and heard. This time, we're asking for your sympathy).

For one so high it practically made him unreachable to the masses of people and paying customers globally, Katigbak sounded pathetic, especially his use of the possessive "ating" ("our" in English) to cuddle public endorsement. 

Suddenly, it's "our ABS-CBN". Do we really belong in good or bad times, or only in times of need? Are we all "kapamilya"? (Related content: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2020/05/without-franchise-abs-cbn-network-closes.html)

Hardly has the "mourning" - contrived by supposed advocates of freedom of the press, in my honest opinion - begun by its loyal followers than a can of worms is already starting to surface that tends to show how the corporation was being run.

Interestingly, the issue of the freedom of the press was not among the subject discussed in a lengthy fact sheet called "Frequently Asked Questions: Bakit Wala Ngayon ang ABS-CBN sa TV?" released to this reporter by a company spokesperson in Toronto.

To the very end, ABS-CBN portrays itself as a fall guy of a repressive regime. The words of Katigbak, a cousin of Gabby Lopez III, son of Eugenio "Geny" Lopez Jr., spoke of defiance, not of defeat. He showed no humility or sadness associated with loss. (His statement at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C88pfaMygqA)

 

"Ang makapag-linkod sa inyo ay aming mission, at ang aming kaligayahan. Ngayon po ay dumating ang araw na kami naman ay dumudulog at nananawagan sa inyo. Hindi po ibinigay ng National Telecommunications Commission ang lisensiya para sa patuloy na paglilingkod ng ABS-CBN. 

"Kaya mawawala na po sa ere ang ating ABS-CBN. Ginawa na po namin ang lahat ng requirement para sa renewal at wala rin po kaming nilabag na batas," says the 50 year-old Katigbak. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Katigbak).

"Hindi po ibinigay ng NTC ang lisensiya para sa patuloy na paglilingkod ng ABS-CBN". Roughly translated, it blames the NTC for refusing to grant a franchise or a license for it to continue to operate.

The network is not exactly crippled, however. It can still broadcast through cable TV at ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), online at news.abs-cbn.com and patrol.ph, and on social media pages of ABS-CBN News, ANC, and DZMM TeleRadyo. Its “TV Patrol” is still available at iWant, TFC, ANC, Facebook, and YouTube of ABS-CBN News, the company said.

Why such a refusal by NTC? Or did ABS-CBN fail to comply with existing laws? Was Katigbak forthcoming with his statement or lying through his teeth?

One answer may be found in what Estrellita Juliano-Tamano, national chair of the 21-year-old Federation of International Cable TV and Telecommunications Association of the Philippines (FICTAP) has disclosed just within hours of ABS-CBN's shutdown. (More info at: http://fictap.com.ph/about.html)

According to her, the network had ingeniously attempted to expand its operation by sneaking an "s" to the word "channel", thus making it plural, in its application to renew its franchise by another 25 years. She explained that was the reason her organization continuously objected to the approval of its franchise.

"We believe one franchise, one channel, and when you say channels, that will mean many channels. It means a new application (as opposed to a renewal)," she says in an interview on GMA News with broadcast journalist Jessica Soho. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZbdunLl4KM).

Ms. Juliano-Tamano's assertion is being challenged by ABS-CBN. 

In a statement released to The Filipino Web Channel in Toronto on Thursday, May 7, 2020, ABS-CBN said in Tagalog: "Ang katotohanan: Walang nakasaad sa kahit anong bersyon ng franchise renewal ng ABS-CBN na limitado lang ito sa isang channel o isang frequency. (The truth: There is nothing in any version of the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN that limits to one channel or one frequency).

"Dahil sa teknolohiya, maaaring mag-broadcast ng maraming channels sa isang frequency. Maaaring tingin ng iba na isang banta sa kanilang negosyo ang pag-ere namin ng maraming channels. (Because of technology, it's okay to broadcast in many channels using one frequency. Some may look at this as a threat to their business).

FICTAP headed by Ms. Juliano-Tamano, according to its website, is "the largest non-profit organization of Cable TV operators all over the country" with a membership of 1,000 small and medium cable enterprises. It has "embraced the expansion from delivering traditional cable TV into telecommunications and value-added services".

Beyond the rhetorics, it is clear ABS-CBN posed an existential threat to small- and medium-sized networks under the umbrella of FICTAP.

"Walang nilabag na batas ang ABS-CBN" (ABS-CBN did not violate any law), its statement emphasized, saying it was made clear by the National Telecommunications Commission, Bureau of Internal Revenue, and Securities and Exchange Commission during a Senate hearing in February. 

Secretary Salvador Panelo, the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel of President Rodrigo Duterte, clarified that the case of ABS-CBN was beyond the reach of the chief executive even as he had time and again vocalized his hurt for the treatment he got as a candidate in 2016.

"Humingi (rin) ng paumanhin ang ABS-CBN kung nasaktan ang Pangulo sa pagpapalabas ng ad. Tinanggap naman ito ni Pangulong Duterte," (ABS-CBN apologized to the President and the President accepted), the network statement said, quoting CNN Philippines as its source.

A YouTube video showed Katigbak at a Senate hearing in February 2020 offering an apology to Mr. Duterte for not airing his political campaign advertisement despite the payment he had already made. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54ziQicrpb4). (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).