Philippine's Duterte Forces Major Broadcasters to Shut Down Despite COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The Philippines' largest broadcaster, critical of the government, has ceased broadcasting due to the expiration of its business license. As the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) rapidly spreads, the inability of major broadcasters that provided updates on the situation to continue airing has reduced the Filipino public's access to disaster-related information.

According to local Philippine media on the 6th, the Philippine National Telecommunications Commission ordered ABS-CBN to stop TV and radio broadcasts. The broadcaster had requested a license renewal from the Philippine Congress, but with no approval decision from Congress and the license expiration, the order to cease broadcasting was issued within a day.

ABS-CBN is one of the largest broadcasters in the Philippines, airing news programs such as TV Patrol, as well as dramas, entertainment, and sports programs.

ABS-CBN maintained critical coverage related to the 'War on Drugs' initiated under President Rodrigo Duterte's directive. It pointed out the injustice of thousands of deaths during the ruthless drug crackdowns. Regarding this coverage, President Duterte publicly expressed dissatisfaction multiple times and declared he would shut down the broadcaster.

Earlier, the Philippine Department of Justice filed a petition with the Supreme Court to revoke ABS-CBN's broadcasting rights, citing a constitutional violation prohibiting foreign ownership.

Several bills supporting ABS-CBN's license renewal have been introduced in the Philippine House of Representatives, which holds broadcasting licensing authority, but these bills remain pending due to lawmakers supporting President Duterte.

The day before, ABS-CBN stated, "At a time when important and timely information is needed more than ever due to the COVID-19 outbreak, ABS-CBN has been ordered to cease broadcasting, causing countless viewers to lose access to news and entertainment."

Both the Philippine opposition and human rights organizations are demanding the cancellation of the order to stop ABS-CBN's broadcasts. However, the Philippine government is deflecting responsibility to Congress, citing that the broadcasting license authority lies with the legislature.

The New York Times (NYT) reported that the Duterte administration has shown hostility toward the media, including warnings about possible assassinations.

Meanwhile, according to Johns Hopkins University in the United States, which tracks global COVID-19 cases, 9,684 people in the Philippines have been infected with COVID-19, and 637 have died so far.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.