By the Movement Against Tyranny
May 5, 2020
The cease and desist order issued today by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) against ABS-CBN is a treacherous act by the Duterte administration against the network and to every Filipino’s right to free expression and a free press.
The order is part of a pattern of using the pandemic as a distraction while coming down hard on our freedoms even as the nation is helplessly quarantined. It’s not surprising that the lead agencies in the fight against the pandemic are headed by ex-generals. Meantime, the streets are crawling with police and soldiers like it were martial law.
ABS-CBN is being shut down as it steps up bravely and admirably in informing the public about the Covid-19 emergency. In the course of doing its job, it has revealed government shortcomings, possibly prompting Calida and NTC to go after the network at this time.
But the order goes against the recommendation of both chambers of Congress for the NTC to issue a provisional license to the network while it’s franchise renewal is being deliberated by the legislature.
More importantly, the closure of the country’s largest and widest broadcast network at this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, where news and information has become a matter of life and death, puts the health and safety of our people in jeopardy.
We call on NTC to immediately rescind its order even as we call on ABS-CBN to resist this treacherous, highly irregular and dangerous order. Now is the time to stand up for our people’s right to information and a free press.#
