READ: Statement from the University of the Philippines Baguio on the closure of the ABS-CBN transmission

Editor’s Note: We are posting in full statements issued by various groups and institutions in support of ABS-CBN Corp., which went off the air on May 5, 2020 following a cease and desist order from the National Telecommunications Commission. The company’s franchise expired on May 4, while invoices for its franchise renewal, some filed since 2016, continue to languish in Congress.

UP BAGUIO STATEMENT ON THE SHUTDOWN OF ABS-CBN

In a voice concert, dissonance is expected to achieve harmony or balance. Dissonance is essential for the exploration of a better society. This more egalitarian society can only be achieved if there are a multiplicity of voices, even discordant. To silence a voice is to promote dogmatism, stasis and decomposition.

Such is the role of the ABS-CBN network. The closure of its transmission operations on May 5, 2020 through a cease and desist order from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has given a voice in a society constantly attacked by those in power through distortion from reality, misdirection and the deployment of trolls whose only job is to smear the independent media and the political opposition with accusations of “false” news.

Backed by a machinery that seeks to question the traditional values ​​of society, such as due process and human rights, it is imperative to listen to the voices of the free and independent media on unadulterated facts and information. Participation in the national conversation is of paramount importance, especially the need for people’s participation in the national discourse, whether from the remote Cordillera or the coastal communities of Pangasinan, La Unión and Ilocos.

Through its journalists and broadcast facilities, ABS-CBN brings these speeches and conversations to a broader Filipino audience so that people can make informed decisions on broad social issues. The closure of the network deprives journalists, the profession and the Filipino people that they must trust free and independent media in these times of continuous assault on truth and facts.

The rule of law, cited generously by supporters of the network’s closure, is never apparent. It should be moderated by the common good and the national interest, both constitutional principles. The deprivation of voting rights of thousands of its workers at a time of a global pandemic diminishes the value of the law in terms of the common good and the national interest.

Social justice is evidenced by a free press. The University of the Philippines, Baguio, represents democracy and press freedom for an enlightened society.

(The executive staff of UP Baguio, May 10, 2020)