Teleradyo closure: Why we need ABS-CBN now more than ever

I write this as a reaction to the Inquirer news article, “ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo shuts down on June 30” (Inquirer.net, 5/23/2023):

I grew up watching and listening to ABS-CBN programs. My father used to work with a foreign news agency before becoming an ABS-CBN staff, so I saw him monitor the news every day. He would always turn on the radio and switch it to DZMM first thing in the morning while on our way to school. Every night we would watch “TV Patrol” because he still needed to monitor what was happening in the country. This daily routine started when I was in grade school and persisted through my high school days.

Before entering college as a student of the College of Fine Arts and Design of the University of Santo Tomas, I had the chance to do a “mini” internship with a graphic artist inside the ABS-CBN headquarters. It felt like a dream come true, as I finally got to go inside ABS-CBN and saw how people worked in the newsrooms.

I have college friends and colleagues who work at ABS-CBN and now they are affected because of the impending shutdown.

The effects of the rejection of ABS-CBN’s new franchise are still being felt today, three years after Congress denied granting it an extension, and a year after the end of the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who wanted the network off the air.

Amidst all the fake news being spread on social media, we need ABS-CBN now more than ever to provide us with accurate and honest news and information—from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the tumultuous political situation of the country, to all newsworthy happenings that we all must be informed about. In our democratic society, a news outlet like the Kapamilya Network is essential as it reports the painful truth and exposes the ills of society, and the wrongdoings of the seemingly untouchable high-and-mighty public officials who need to be made accountable for their actions and even inaction.

While not perfect, ABS-CBN has proven that good reporting does not just inform and enlighten; it can also help motivate its viewers, listeners, and readers into action. In the true service of the Filipino, it shall remain as one of the most reliable sources of information of the Filipino people.

Basilio Sepe