PHILIPPINES: Rights groups, journalists condemn Duterte bid to shut key TV network
By Felipe F. Salvosa II
MANILA (Asia Pacific Report/Pacific Media Watch): New York-based Human Rights Watch has led a barrage of condemnation
against the Duterte government’s “assault on media freedom” by filing a court petition to void the franchise of ABS-CBN,
the largest television network in the Philippines.
The petition for quo warranto accuses ABS-CBN of skirting the ban on foreign ownership of mass media and illegally operating a digital for-pay
channel and a subsidiary for mobile and digital TV platforms. The publicly listed company denies the allegations.
Shares in ABS-CBN fell 1.76 percent to 16.70 pesos each following news of the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor-General Jose Calida, who campaigned for President Rodrigo Duterte in the 2016 election.
HRW said in a statement that the Philippine Congress should thwart the Duterte government’s “misuse” of regulatory
powers, adding that Calida’s action could prevent the renewal of ABS-CBN’s 25-year franchise, which expires on March 30.