Filtered By: Topstories
News

Palace to US: Duterte recognizes importance of independent media


President Rodrigo Duterte recognizes the importance of independent media in the Philippines, Malacañang told the United States on Friday, after broadcast giant ABS-CBN was forced off the air due to an expired franchise.

US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus on Thursday said they were concerned about the government-ordered shutdown of ABS-CBN and that free media was vital in promoting public health amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We share the view of the US State Department that an independent media is vital to democratic societies like the Philippines. This stance has never wavered on the part of the President and his administration,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.

Roque assured the country’s foreign allies that the Philippines “continues to have a free and robust press where the critics and the political opposition remain vocal in their aversion to the current government.”

Duterte has repeatedly threatened to block the renewal of ABS-CBN’s operating license over unaired campaign ads in 2016. ABS-CBN executives apologized to him during a Senate hearing in February, prompting him to declare that the fate of the network’s franchise now lies with Congress, which is dominated by his allies.

“We therefore ask those who clamor for the continued operations of the network, whose broadcast franchise had lapsed, to lobby before their representatives in the august halls of Congress and make their voices be heard,” Roque said.

“As we have said in previous occasions, the President is neutral on the issue and he will leave the matter to the wisdom of our honorable ladies and gentlemen of both chambers of Congress.” —LDF, GMA News

LOADING CONTENT