Volume 1, Issue No. 53
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, July 10, 2020
~ This is no requiem for the billionaire broadcast giant that had lapsed, supposedly, into silence twice already; one in May and the latest, yesterday (July 10, Manila time). This last gasp may not be final, for the owners of ABS-CBN could still revive it in the not-so-distant future when the wind blows are more favorable. When lawmakers drove the last nail into its coffin, people both grieve and rejoice, weep and cheer. There's no love lost.
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ABS-CBN - THE PHILIPPINES' LARGEST NETWORK
Sad Day for a Spurned Giant
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
“It all goes away. Eventually, everything goes away.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert
TORONTO - The end did not come unexpectedly. It was ordained on the very day congressmen started marathon scrutiny of ABS-CBN, the erstwhile broadcast giant that had lorded it over the airwaves of every nook and cranny of the Philippines and Filipino communities in foreign lands.
Practically every day during the nearly two weeks of hearings at the legislative franchises committee, the public gaze open-mouthed at the spectacle of timid-looking network officials being grilled by lawmakers who once were either demonized, wronged, harassed, persecuted. It's déjà vu for the most part.
And when the decisive moment came on Friday, July 10, 2020, in Manila, seventy (70) congressmen, including those previously bruised and tattered in its radio and television broadcasts, voted to trash ABS-CBN's request for a fresh 25-year franchise.
The committee of 85 members needed only forty-four (44) votes to deny the application, but 70 came forward - that's more than 82 percent. The voting pattern was 70 for denial, 11 against, 2 inhibit, and 1 abstain. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/
The 70 decided to “deny the application of ABS-CBN Corporation for a franchise to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain radio and broadcasting stations in the Philippines.”
To me, it's an indication of how representatives, voicing out the sentiments of their constituents, loathed ABS-CBN and its brand of biased/slanted/distorted reporting, on the one hand, and the many asinine programs, on the other, it dished out during its heyday.
It's interesting to note that of the 11 who voted against, two once worked with ABS-CBN, namely former movie star Vilma Santos, and former reporter Sol Aragones, which means their loyalty and personal interests came first before the people's. Another, Carlos Zarate, is identified with Bayan Muna party-list, which authorities consider a communist front.
There seemed to be so much disgust for the network when it held sway to the point that the 70 men and women who thumbed it down instantly became heroes in the eyes of many people, and, of course, villains among the bleeding hearts of opposing political ideologues and devoted supporters.
The impassioned pleas of the latter did not dent the resolve of most members of the committee to reject the franchise, especially when evidence showed ABS-CBN had committed violations of the law. Personal testimonies of both lawmakers and former employees only buttressed the findings.
At the height of its dominance, ABS-CBN could make or unmake any politician, officials in and out of government, friends, enemies, movie stars. It decided who rose and fell. It picked who the light shone on and dimmed. It was kingmaker by the sheer might of its radio-television empire.
After the committee junked the franchise application, Mark Lopez, ABS-CBN chairman, issued a statement, saying the mission to reopen the network continues. But it is his confession that struck me.
"Mahal na mahal namin ang Filipino. Mahal na mahal namin ang kapamilya" (We love the Filipino very much. We love the Kapamilya very much), he said. Oh yeah?
I was tearing up, furious and indignant at the injustice while watching the personal accounts of former employees who have not been paid their dues, salaries, and benefits for at least 10 years. And there were those that ABS-CBN had sued in court for attempting to better their life and working conditions.
Having won a judgment in their favor, the network would run to the Court of Appeals, and then to the Supreme Court to evade payment and prolong their agony. Given these circumstances, Lopez' words are hollow.
If ABS-CBN truly cared, why did it allow its employees to suffer? "Mahal na mahal namin ang Filipino" is nothing but empty rhetoric. What kind of love is that? (Related story at: https://
Meanwhile, Carlo Katigbak, ABS-CBN president, also issued his statement. He said:
"Labis po kaming nasasaktan sa desisyon ng committee on legislative franchises na tangihan ang franchise ng ABS-CBN," he declared not with a tinge of sorrow.
"Naniniwala kaming nakapagbigay kami ng serbisyong makabuluhan at mahalaga sa mga Filipino. x x x Kasama ng aming empleyado, karamay ninyo kami sa inyong kalungkutan . . . " (Related video at: https://www.youtube.com/
Wow, I almost threw up! Listening to these top executives has now convinced me that the 70 lawmakers who voted against ABC-CBN had all the valid reasons to do what they did. I would have cast my vote with them if I had a chance, no second thoughts! (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).
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