Democracy Watch Philippines statement of support to renew the ABS-CBN franchise:
NO TO WEAPONIZED RULE BY LAW!
Democracy Watch Philippines strongly opposes the Duterte Administration’s weaponized rule by law to threaten its critics and brazen disrespect to due process in its obsession to wrest away the franchise of ABS-CBN. As it has done in the past, the Duterte Government has used disinformation and scandalous labels to drum up populist sentiments against its political targets.
We believe that Solicitor General Calida’s move is not only a gross attempt to set aside due process but is yet another instance of the Duterte administration selectively wielding its authority to harass and stifle criticism and opposition.
Furthermore, the removal of ABS CBN’s franchise will have direct implications on thousands of Filipino families who are employed by the network and its allied industries. How ironic, that Calida, who purports to represent the Filipino people’s interest and harness their popular support, proudly files a case that will cause the loss of thousands of jobs and may set the precedent for more attacks against enterprises deemed as political enemies of the administration. If this is allowed to happen, we may be at the beginning of another crony capitalist era that’s even darker than the Marcos dictatorship.
Democracy Watch calls for the move away from populist and senseless rhetoric to fact-based, solution-oriented debate. We call for legislators to exercise their power to renew franchises, to defend the right to a free media and to stand up for their constituents’ right to be truthfully informed.
Paco Pangalangan
Convenor, Democracy Watch