As the National Telecommunications Commission ordered ABS-CBN on Tuesday to stop its radio and TV operations, entertainment personalities joined a chorus of online protest against the shutdown of the country’s largest media company.
The hashtag #NoToABSCBNShutDown topped Twitter’s list of trending topics in the Philippines minutes after the big announcement. Filipinos reacted to the cease and desist order.
Celebrities echoed the concern of Filipinos over the prospect of eliminating a prime source of information amid the coronavirus pandemic, and the further loss of jobs with an estimated 11,000 during a crisis that has already cost many of their livelihood.
However, some pointed out the implications of ABS-CBN’s closure on freedom of the press in the country, coincidentally in the same week as World Press Freedom Day.
They say that ABS-CBN has formed a vital part of Philippine society and culture over the past six decades it has been in service — and shutting its broadcast operations would have a grave impact on Filipinos who have depended on it as a source not only of entertainment but information.
Regine Velasquez, singer
Ria Atayde, actress
Angeli Pangilinan, talent manager
Concerned Artists of the Philippines
Karen Davila, ABS-CBN News Anchor
Bianca Gonzales, TV host
Juan Miguel Severo, Actor and Poet
Ai dela Cruz MYX VJ
Gretchen Ho, TV host
Leah Navarro, singer
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