MANILA, PHILIPPINES – In the wake of the Philippine Congress voting not to renew the broadcasting franchise of ABS-CBN, its President and CEO Carlo Katigbak, released a statement on the issue.
“We are deeply hurt that the Committee on Legislative Franchises has denied the franchise application of ABS-CBN. We believe that we have been rendering service that is meaningful and valuable to the Filipino public. Nevertheless, we would like to thank the Committee for allowing us a chance to air our side on all the issues raised against us,” the statement read.
“ABS-CBN would like to thank all the congressmen who stood by their bills to renew our franchise, or who spoke out on our behalf during the hearings. We are forever grateful,” it continued.
Addressing the Filipino public that has shown support for the broadcaster’s franchise renewal, Katigbak said, “We also thank everyone who expressed their support and offered their prayers for us. We could not have gotten to this point without you.”
“We remain committed to public service, and we hope to find other ways to achieve our mission. Together with our employees and our audiences all over the world, we share in your sadness over this setback. We look forward to the day when we can again reunite under our broadcast. Mga Kapamilya, thank you for keeping the faith with us,” he added.
The House Committee on Legislative Franchises voted 70 to 11 against the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise, leaving approximately 11,000 of the company’s employees jobless during a global pandemic.
The Philippines’ largest entertainment and media company, ABS-CBN Corporation was founded on June 13, 1946 as the Bolinao Electronics Corporation. It was renamed the Alto Broadcasting System and eventually merged with Chronicle Broadcasting Network by Eugenio Lopez, Sr. and brother Fernando Lopez in 1967.
The last time ABS-CBN was off the air was when Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in September 1972 and seized the network’s assets. After the People Power Revolution of 1986, Eugenio Lopez, Jr. returned to the Philippines from exile and ABS-CBN and all of their properties were ordered returned by the Presidential Commission on Good Government.
Katigbak closed his statement by saying, “Kapit lang, muling magliliwanag ang kwento ng bawat Pilipino.”
Hindi natatapos dito ang laban. pic.twitter.com/FFG44Z0qo2
— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) July 10, 2020
About the Author:
Jason Inocencio was once the Digital Editor of adobo magazine who still loves seeing great campaigns from all over the world. He proudly shows off his love for all kinds of geeky things, whether it be movies, TV shows, comics, sports, or trivia.
