Hundreds and thousands of Filipinos expect primetime dramas to grace their television screens after TV Patrol, ABS-CBN’s nightly newscast. But tonight, it was nothing…
Hundreds and thousands of Filipinos expect primetime dramas to grace their television screens after TV Patrol, ABS-CBN’s nightly newscast.
But tonight, it was nothing but a grey static screen.
It was evident that TV Patrol anchors—veteran journalists Ted Failon, Noli De Castro, and Bernadette Sembrano-Aguinaldo—were holding back their emotions as they were closing the nightly newscast.
“Kapamilya, ‘yan po ang mga balitang nakalap sa aming mas malawak na pagpapatrol. Hihinto po ng ABS-CBN, DZMM, MOR, at lahat po ng TV at radio stations nito sa buong Pilipinas ang pag-broadcast pagkatapos ng aming programa,” Failon said.
“Kinakailangan lamang po naming istasyon ng sapat na panahon upang maisaayos ang pag-shutdown sa aming mga kagamitan at maabisuhan din po ang aming mga taga-panuod at mga kapamilya,” he added.
De Castro, meanwhile, said the broadcast company would not be silenced by the attack on press freedom.
“Bayan, mga kapamilya, ilan dekada rin tayong nagkasama. Utang na loob namin sa inyo na tinanggap ninyo kami sa inyong mga tahanan gabi-gabi. Naging malaking bahagi na kami ng inyong buhay, karamay sa mga panahon ng kalamidad at paghihirap,” De Castro said.
“Hindi man na-renew ang aning prangkisa at pinatitigil ang ating broadcast, nangangako kami sa inyo, hindi kami mananahimik sa pag-atakeng ito sa ating demokrasya at sa malayang pamamahayag.
