ADMU encouraged lawmakers to “act post-haste” on ABS-CBN’s “forced shutdown”
The Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) encouraged lawmakers to “act post-haste” on ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal as well as its broadcast operations.
This, as the Ateneo de Manila University wrote a memorandum addressed to their community on Wednesday. Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, the president of the university, said in a memorandum that the cease and desist order of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on ABS-CBN had deprived Filipinos of an essential source of information, entertainment, and public service.
Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin claimed that the order of the National Telecommunications Commission “made good the threats” from the President to block the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN “for reasons of his own”.
As per the report, Villarin said that the community had been familiar with the martial law almost 50 years ago — when the airwaves went silent as the dictatorship of former President Ferdinand Marcos “sought to quell the free exchange” of vital news, information, and commentary.
On Tuesday afternoon, the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease and desist order against ABS-CBN because of the expiration of the company’s congressional franchise, as such, the commission directed ABS-CBN to stop its operations nationwide.
The said order from the National Telecommunications Commission came as ABS-CBN’s franchise, as per Republic Act No. 7966, was expired last May 4, 2020, thus, the company will no longer have a “valid and subsisting” congressional franchise as required by the law. Also, the commission stated that ABS-CBN would also follow Republic Act No. 3846 or the Radio Control Law.
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