(May 5, 2021) – Filipinos should never forget.
Journalists on Wednesday renewed their call pushing for the return of ABS-CBN on free television one year after it was forcibly shut down by the government, stressing the chilling effect it has created on the country’s media landscape.
Exactly a year ago, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered ABS-CBN to stop its broadcast operations, prompted by Solicitor General Jose Calida’s warning against issuing a provisional authority to the giant network. Calida said ABS-CBN should obtain a legislative franchise to operate.
ABS-CBN’s franchise officially expired on May 4. Its fate remained hanging in the balance for at least two months as deliberations in the House of Representatives went on. But in the end, 70 lawmakers voted to deny the ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal bid for another 25 years.
While the media company continued to operate through social media and its partner channels, media groups pointed out the resulting information gap, especially in far-flung areas. It also led to a massive layoff of media workers at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) on Wednesday said the ABS-CBN shutdown “proves how the tyrant fears truth-tellers.”
“We refuse to forget how Malacañang wielded the state machinery to clamp down on one of the biggest media outlets in the country. We will not forget all those who were instrumental in this wanton violation of press freedom,” said the NUJP in a statement.
Despite the continued attacks on the media profession, the NUJP also expressed optimism for the return of ABS-CBN.
“We stand with them today in the hope—the certainty—that ABS-CBN will be back on air and will continue the vital work that it has been doing to inform as well as entertain in the service of the Filipino,” added the NUJP.
[Statement] A year off the air but never silenced
LINK: https://t.co/SRW5UIRRzg pic.twitter.com/WLMHk5OgJ2
— NUJP (@nujp) May 5, 2021
Veteran journalists, including ABS-CBN anchor Karen Davila, encouraged Filipinos to “keep on fighting” and never forget what transpired last year.
May 5, 2020. The day ABSCBN went dark. We shall not forget. Keep on fighting. pic.twitter.com/5IEwUwg5kg
— Karen Davila (@iamkarendavila) May 4, 2021
“Now signing off.”
Last three words heard on air. But there are many more untold stories. Here is a collection of stories, images and videos from the night when there was nothing left but dead air.Worked on this with @anjo_bagaoisan & @TarraQuismundo.https://t.co/BEjvS4jLAp
— Jeff Canoy (@jeffcanoy) May 4, 2021
It’s been a year since we were all left in disbelief. Maraming Salamat sa mga loyal Kapamilya who continue to support ABSCBN na patuloy gumagawa ng paraan para makapaglingkod, makapamahagi ng impormasyon, balita at makapagbigay saya sa pamilyang Pilipino saan mang parte ng mundo pic.twitter.com/ow1VAyg5Jt
— Anne Curtis-Smith (@annecurtissmith) May 5, 2021
The hashtag #IbalikAngABSCBN also became one of the top trending topics on Twitter with close to 23,000 tweets as of posting.
The last screen before it went black. We will never forget. #IbalikAngABSCBN pic.twitter.com/JoEPhtpiv9
— JP May I Go Out? ? (@dumidyeypee) May 4, 2021
Today marks one year after ABS-CBN shutdown, a year has passed since this administration made a bold move to deprive its people access to information, take the livelihood of 000s of media practitioners and a desperate attempt to suppress press freedom.
1/2
— roj tirona (@rojtirona) May 5, 2021
#ABSCBNShutdown‘s 1st year anniversary and the plea to #IbalikAngABSCBN trended for a year too.. Maybe not now but soon, they’ll come back better and stronger than before. Continue being the voice of the people and #InTheServiceOfTheFilipino ❤️??.. pic.twitter.com/WBlWFl7zhc
— A.cee?⚖️? (@AhvBenz) May 4, 2021
It’s my birthday, but also…
On this day in 2020, at 7:52:08pm, the most-watched network in the PH was closed down at the hands of a Solicitor General appointed by a president who for four years whined about them not using all the money on ad carriage.#ABSCBNShutdown ❤?? pic.twitter.com/AOu1e6VOFD
— Red’s Politics (@redspolitics) May 4, 2021
Today, it has been one year since the ABS-CBN was ordered by the NTC, the Philippine TV watchdogs a Cease and Desist order to stop operations. ABS-CBN is a victim once again of Duterte’s selfishness and stupidity… #IbalikAngABSCBN pic.twitter.com/CY4fct8MuT
— William’s Politics (@stan_ni_kira) May 5, 2021
Some lawmakers, including Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate, also expressed their support for ABS-CBN while lamenting the fake news, disinformation, revisionism, and red-tagging being peddled by President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies.
“Journalists must help the poor and disadvantaged to be heard and not be silenced by threats. It is only by doing this that we can ensure that press freedom is alive in the Philippines and the ABS-CBN can go back in the airwaves,” said Zarate.
(Beatrice Puente/PM)
Our Privacy Commitment
TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.
We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.
Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?
We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:
Where do we get your personal information?
There are several ways we collect your personal information.
Information that you personally provided.
Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
Information we collect during your engagement with us
We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
Information we collect from other sources
Other means of collection of information may be through:
When do we disclose personal information?
There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.
We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.
In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.
How we protect your personal information
The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.
We also put in effect the following safeguards:
TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.
What are your choices?
We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.
If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.
Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph
What happens when there are changes in our Policy?
From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.
You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.