Economic, justice reporters condemn rejection of ABS-CBN's franchise application

Groups of journalists covering the economic and justice beats, in separate statements, expressed their indignation over the House Committee on Legislative Franchises' vote denying the franchise application of ABS-CBN.

"Today's events cast a long shadow on the industry, and has dire implications on Filipinos' constitutionally guaranteed right to a free press," the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) said.

The association also stressed the importance of the network's role in bringing news to areas without the internet, especially amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

EJAP pointed out that around 11,000 employees of ABS-CBN would lose their jobs amid the pandemic, "a time when the COVID-19 crisis has pushed [the] country's unemployment rate to a record high."

A Philippine Statistic's Authority survey in June showed that the number of jobless Filipinos hit a record-high in April as millions of workers were displaced due to the COVID-19.

EJAP threw its support behind the network and called on other journalists as well as the public to "safeguard" press freedom.

"[W]e call on all our fellow journalists and our most important stakeholders, and the Filipino people, to help safeguard the freedom of the press during these dark days," it said.

Meanwhile, the Justice and Court Reporters Association (JUCRA) on Saturday called the rejection of ABS-CBN's franchise application a "brazen assault on press freedom."

"What happened on July 10, 2020 was a brazen assault on press freedom which only shows that those we elect to make our laws can be the clear and present danger to the rights granted to us by our Constitution," JUCRA said in a separate statement.

"The message was loud and clear: if you don't toe the line, you are next," it added.

JUCRA stressed that the government's ability to deny the franchise "in the full view of the Filipino people and the world, is also a clear sign."

"That the evil consequence of our leaders' power play is extremely serious, and the imminence of that evil is extremely high. They are the clear and present danger," it said.

"But lest our representatives forget, we are a generation shaped by the battles for our freedoms. We will fight back, not just for ABS-CBN, but for the right to be free from the shackles of our oppressors," it said.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, meanwhile, said  that the 18th Congress "declared itself [an] enemy of democracy."

ABS-CBN on May 5 went off the air after it was issued a cease and desist order by the National Telecommunications Commission for its lack of franchise.

The bills seeking a franchise renewal for the network have been pending since 2014. However, Congress only started its deliberations on the bills on March 10, 2020. — DVM/MDM, GMA News