"What will happen to ABS-CBN when we go to what is called the new normal?"
"What will happen to ABS-CBN when we go to what is called the new normal?"
Yesterday, May 4, the 25-year franchise of Lopez-owned television-radio network ABS-CBN expired. To all intents and purposes, it is now operating illegally. There is no law granting it a franchise. Since the National Telecommunications Commission cannot give it an authority to operate, it can even be said that all contracts it has entered into with advertising companies can be deemed illegal, as well
ABS-CBN exists because of the tolerance of the Duterte government. People need to be informed about what is happening during these times of the coronavirus pandemic.
So what will happen to ABS-CBN when we go to what is called the new normal? This is what is on the minds of many. People would also like to know what will happen to the quo warranto petition against the networked filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida.
**
I was amused by the defense of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation with regard to the partial reopening of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.
Chairperson Andrea Domingo came out with the silly statement claiming that POGOs belong to the Business Process Outsourcing sector and hence considered an essential activity.
My gulay – POGOs as essential?
I have raised so many times the question of why the Chinese seem to be getting special treatment from the Duterte administration. Here comes Malacanang authorizing the partial operations of POGOS because we supposedly need the money to fund our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To me, this is a wrong sense of priority.
The government seems to be putting so much emphasis on what we are getting from POGOs. But has government considered the fact that there is a high likelihood that prostitution and other criminal activities also restarting?
It can also be said that the operation of POGOs at this time when China is militarizing disputed territory in the West Philippine Sea shows that the Chinese are bent on making Filipinos second-class citizens in our own country.
Meanwhile, here is our Armed Forces chief of staff writing the ambassador of a foreign country that is bullying us. The chief of staff is asking personal favors from the Chinese!
This is not Sinophobia. I am raising valid questions.
**
The Duterte administration should not be in a hurry to modify the Enhanced Community Quarantine. We should learn from the experiences of other countries like Germany and Japan. They eased restrictions too soon, and eventually they saw a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.
I can understand the sacrifices we Filipinos are going through during this pandemic.
But we should not be in a hurry to modify the lockdown because we have yet to stem the curve of infections.
It’s a sacrifice to stay indoors, but we must do it for the common good.
**
The Supreme Court did well to reduce to the minimum the bail that should be posted by many detainees in city and municipal jails. This concerns people accused of petty crimes.
That many are in jail because they cannot afford to post bail for their crimes is the reason that many jails are congested.
But how about detainees who cannot afford to post bail at all?
Our authorities must be reminded that we are facing a health crisis, not a peace and order crisis. As such, violators of the ECQ should not be treated as criminals. Their human rights should be respected, Santa Banana!
