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Pacquiao prays God would touch Duterte and push for reversal of ABS-CBN shutdown


Senator Manny Pacquiao on Thursday said he is praying that President Rodrigo Duterte would nudge the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to reverse the closure order it issued to ABS-CBN.

"Dito sa pag-ooperate ng ABS-CBN may magagawa naman ang Pangulo. Dito sa pagsasara hindi naman natin siguro pwedeng sisihin ang Pangulo sa naging desisyon ng NTC," Pacquiao said in an interview on ANC.

"Pero I'm hoping, I'm praying na hipuin ng Panginoon ang Pangulo na tulungan at kausapin ang NTC na bigyan ng provisional authority to operate [ang ABS-CBN] while the pending renewal bill ay dinidinig ng House at Senate," he added.

He stressed that this would not be the first time that the NTC would allow an entity with expired franchise to operate through a provisional authority.

The Palace, on the other hand, earlier said that Duterte is "neutral" on the matter and cannot reverse the decision of the NTC.

"If the President could even exercise appellate jurisdiction to the decisions of the NTC, then perhaps the President could intervene. The reality is no. We do not have appellate jurisdiction," Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.

Roque added that Duterte could be held liable for graft and violation of the code of conduct for government employees if he would make such intervention.

Pacquiao said he also thinks of the thousands of Filipinos who lost their job due to the shutdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"'Yung pamilya na nawalan ng trabaho, saan sila kukuha at maghahanap ng trabaho sa panahon ngayon ng crisis na ito?" he asked.

Nonetheless, the senator said he believes the situation should not be compared to the martial law events.

"Ang pagsara ng ABS-CBN hindi dapat ikumpara sa martial law. Hindi naman tayo martial law, iba na generation natin ngayon. Kailangan lang natin ng pagkakaunawaan, pagkakaisa," he said.

'A warning sign'

Senator Risa Hontiveros, on the other hand, said the closure of the media company should not be taken lightly as it could have a domino effect.

"Importante, tingin ko, na tignan natin ito bilang isa na namang malaking danger signal, warning sign," Hontiveros said in a virtual interview.

"Basahin natin ang writing on the wall, huwag tayo magbulag-bulagan dahil ang anumang atake sa freedom of the press ay atake sa bawat isa pa at lahat ng mga karapatang pantao, mga democratic freedoms natin at civil liberties natin," she added.

"Kailangan tayong magtulungan at magkaisa sa pagdedepensa nito dahil kapag may isang haliging karapatan o kalayaan na pinilay ay pwedeng sunod-sunod nang pilayin din ang iba't iba pang haligi ng isang demokrasya."

She underscored this is not the first time that media outlets have been attacked under the Duterte administration.

"Hindi na nga ito ang unang pagkakataon nagpag-shutdown o pagsubok na mag-shutdown, nauna nang i-bully ang Rappler, Philippine Daily Inquirer, ngayon ABS-CBN," she said.

Last February, Duterte vowed not to meddle with the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN after the latter apologized for offending the President on not being able to air P7-million worth of his campaign ads during the election period in 2016.

Presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo also reiterated that ABS-CBN's shutdown this time is because of an expired franchise and is thus not comparable to its closure in 1972 during the martial law.—AOL, GMA News

 

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