ABS-CBN Employees in Visayas: Goodbye

ILOILO CITY – After nearly two decades, Nony Basco has become a familiar face on television on the ABS-CBN network’s “TV Patrol Panay” daily newscast.

He has hosted programs in Hiligaynon and covered major news in Western Visayas, including calamities, crime, and politics.

But after Friday August 28, Ilonggos will no longer see Basco and the regional broadcast of “TV Patrol” that has been running for 17 years.

Fifty-five reporters, anchors and news chiefs, station managers, and other ABS-CBN Iloilo personnel were among the thousands of broadcast network employees across the country who will be laid off effective September 1.

The gigantic broadcasting network laid off employees following the non-renewal of the network’s franchise by the House of Representatives.

Media groups and ABS-CBN supporters blamed President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies for the rejection of the franchise renewal offer. An ongoing petition campaign seeks to drive the network’s franchise renewal through a popular initiative. The signatures must be from at least 3 percent of the registered voters in each legislative district and at least 10 percent of the total registered voters in the country.

The Association of Foreign Correspondents of the Philippines (Focap) lamented on Friday the “avoidable national tragedy” of the closure of the regional broadcasts of the ABS-CBN network.

Friday marked the last day of the “TV Patrol” newscasts on provincial stations. ABS-CBN will definitively cease its regional operations after more than three decades.

“Millions of Filipinos outside of Metro Manila will lose a credible and rapid news source today as they struggle through a life-threatening crisis,” Focap said in his statement.

The group of reporters from international publications and networks said those from isolated and disaster-prone villages that other networks could not reach “will dangerously lose their access to national news, including government pronouncements.”

“It is an avoidable national tragedy, inflicted by the very people who should protect Filipinos from all adversity,” Focap said.

ABS-CBN was forced to halt its broadcast operations on May 5, after the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease-and-desist order against the network a day after its franchise expired on May 4. In July, the legislative committee of the House of Representatives Franchises denied the network’s franchise offer.

Focap noted that in addition to viewers who will be deprived of news in their native language, thousands of community journalists, news production staff and subsequent workers lost their sources of livelihood on Friday.

“[They] He will tearfully leave ABS-CBN and join the growing ranks of the unemployed and desperate, ”Focap said.

Basco said he still had no clear plans after working for the company for 18 years.

Painful reality

“I still want to be a journalist but I don’t know if it is still possible. It is emotionally, financially and psychologically painful to lose our jobs, especially during a pandemic, ”Basco, 40, told the Inquirer.

He said he and his wife would focus on a small business while looking for additional sources of income or a new job. “But it’s hard to find work anywhere right now.”

While laid off employees will receive separation pay from their company based on their seniority, Basco said this would not be enough to support their family in the long term.

“It’s hard to lose your main source of income on top of all the uncertainties right now,” he said.

Her main concern now is ensuring that the needs of her two children, a 12-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, continue to be met, she said.

Gemma Villanueva, a pioneer of the Iloilo station and current news chief, said she would miss the daily grind of the newsroom.

Grateful, hopeful

“I’ve spent more time at the station than at home because journalism can never be a 9 (am) to 5 (pm) job,” said Villanueva, who started as a news correspondent in 1996.

“I am grateful that the network took care of us. Life has to go on, ”he added.

He is hopeful that he can find a job amid the pandemic, but in the meantime he will depend on a family business.

Losing her first and only job is also difficult for 34-year-old reporter Joyce Anne Clavecillas, who had been at the station since she was a communications intern at the University of the Philippines in Visayas and was hired as a reporter after graduation.

He said he would miss most of the public service programs he used to coordinate, such as bloodshed activities and medical missions.

Clavecillas said she would spend most of her time helping the bakery her parents set up for her, since her partner, a sailor, is away from home. She will also spend her time taking care of her 5 and 4 year old daughters and helping them with their homeschooling.

Nose for news

But her nose for the news will always be with her.

“If I pick up any news or newsworthy information, I will most likely pass it on to friends and journalists at ABS-CBN,” he said.

In Cebu, many employees, including managers, from ABS-CBN’s radio and television platforms were also laid off.

Angelica Fay Saniel, a DyAB reporter since 2013, said tears were still flowing since they were informed of her reduction last month.

“It’s not just about losing our jobs, but also about the relationship we build over time. It would take a while before reality assimilated, ”he said. —WITH REPORTS FROM NESTLE SEED

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