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'The silence was deafening': Filipinos emotional over ABS-CBN closure

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/05/06/20200506-grandma-abscbn.jpg"/><figcaption>Rosa Moreño, from Ormoc City in Leyte, regularly watched ABS-CBN from morning until late evening until broadcast giant was ordered to close by the government on Tuesday. After it went off the air, she implored one of her sons to help her watch re-runs of the network&#x27;s TV shows. Courtesy of Henryl Moreño</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA (UPDATE)— On a regular night, many Filipinos are accustomed to watching primetime dramas on their television screens after TV Patrol.But when ABS-CBN&#x27;s nightly newscast ended Tuesday night, things took a different turn as the broadcast giant went off the air to <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/05/20/abs-cbn-to-go-off-air-in-compliance-with-ntc-order" target="_blank">comply</a> with the National Telecommunications Commission&#x27;s order following the expiry of its franchise last May 4.&quot;Last night, as I was watching Ted Failon bidding goodbye, ni tulo gyud akong luha. My husband, nga naa sa Spain, nag-video call mi, nakakita nga nakahilak gyud ko, he comforted me and kept telling me nga dli maguol kay mobalik ra daw na dayon. Temporary lang daw ni,&quot; Jerna Angela Andoy-Arbutante, 38, a teacher in Bohol, told ABS-CBN News.(Last night, as I was watching Ted Failon bidding goodbye, my tears fell down. My husband, who is in Spain, saw me cry because we were having a video call. He comforted me and kept telling me not to be sad because it will be back soon, that this is just temporary.)&quot;Pag sugod pa lang dagan ni Piolo Pascual nagdala sa flag, then nag sugod tugtug ang Lupang Hinirang, nasamot ko kahilak... Samot pag-ingon og &quot;This is ABS-CBN, now signing off.&quot; Sus, grabe sakit gyud sa dughan,&quot; she added.(When I saw Piolo Pascual start running while carrying the flag, and the Lupang Hinirang started to play, I cried all the more... And then, it broke my heart when I heard, “This is ABS-CBN now signing off.”)It was the same for Mary Lou Abamongga, 41, also a teacher in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur.&quot;I was very sad and upset. I feel like crying when I last saw the moments before it went off air, especially the playing of the National Anthem. Sobrang nakaka-touch at sobrang sakit,&quot; Abamongga said.Like Arbutante and Abamongga, some other Filipinos in different parts of the country got emotional and couldn&#x27;t contain their sadness over the company ceasing its broadcast operations, saying they have lost a source of information and entertainment.&quot;The silence was deafening because you just know that one of our vanguards against state abuse has successfully been silenced,&quot; lawyer Alvin Clyde Gregorio, 36, said.&quot;I was tuned in before it went off-air, and the seconds leading up to the final moment of death was very disconcerting: it was like seeing someone who was about to breathe his last and you cannot do anything about it.&quot;Gregorio said he felt &quot;like a big part of our democracy died&quot; when the network went off the air.Customs broker Jojo Elamparo said he was angry at the shutdown because it was a &quot;suppression of the freedom of the press, the only thing [the] Duterte government is good at.&quot;Kaye Jacinto, a housewife from Quezon City who described herself as a &quot;solid Kapamilya,&quot; said she has turned to the network for information on events inside and outside the country, especially now that the world continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.&quot;Sa ABS kasi ako nanonood ng news especially with what&#x27;s happening ngayon hindi lang sa bansa but [also] outside. Nakatutok ako sa mga news report,&quot; she said in an online exchange.Arcelyn Masayas, 42, from Mandaue City, Cebu said she relies on the network for news and daily information, especially when the COVID-19 pandemic is currently threatening the country.She felt disappointed as she watched the last episode of TV Patrol, ABS-CBN&#x27;s trademark news program, before the network went off the air.&quot;I got sad because my TV has nothing to show already,&quot; she said.Rosa Moreño, from Ormoc City in Leyte, regularly watched ABS-CBN from morning until late evening. After it went off the air, she implored one of her sons to help her watch re-runs of the network&#x27;s TV shows.&quot;Naawa ako sa nanay ko. She watches ABS-CBN from morning til 10 or 11pm. So today, she asked my brother to help her watch re-runs and he learned of iWantTV,&quot; her son Henryl said.iWant, previously known as iWant TV, is an online content platform and production company owned and operated by ABS-CBN.Elderly couple Edmundo and Carmelita Turbanos, who regularly watch Sunday masses on Channel 2 due to the lockdown in Bacolod, were unable to attend the eucharistic service for the first time after ABS-CBN went off-air.&quot;It is so sad when every day you have been attending mass then you will be deprived of it now. I don&#x27;t have other options because we cannot also go out of my house and go to church because we are senior citizens,&quot; Edmundo said.Winnie Bucoy from Zamboanga City said that when they had no internet connection, ABS-CBN provided them leisurely with its TV shows.&quot;I am sad that they closed, but I am praying that they will reopen,&quot; she said.Merlyn Laspiña, a public school teacher from Barangay Maasin, also of Zamboanga City, lamented, &quot;Walang ibang channel dito sa aming barangay, dito sa aming lugar. Hindi kasi umaabot ang ibang channels dito. And we love ABS-CBN at yung ibang mga barangay ganun din ang nakikita ko. So pakibalik ang ABS-CBN please lang.&quot;Residents in Legazpi City also hope for the return of ABS-CBN shows and programs on TV and radio.&quot;Dapat ibalik nila agad. Yan lang naman ang pinapanood namin,&quot; said William Asiado.&quot;Maghihintay kami hanggang bumukas ang ABS-CBN. Sana makabalik agad,&quot; added Warren Bermejo.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/05/06/tv.jpg"/><figcaption>Roselyn Valencia, a resident of Legazpi City, Albay, thought her TV set had some problem when she checked it on Wednesday and did not see any show on ABS-CBN channel. Karla Thea Omelan, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>Arbutante, the teacher from Bohol, said she understood the side of government in shutting down the network but is confident that ABS-CBN would go back on air soon.&quot;I know, my entire family and millions of Filipinos are confident that this shutdown will not last long. I believe President Duterte will not be blind and deaf to the people’s plea, and to the thousands of employees of the network,&quot; she said.Joycelyn Largado, 45, a housewife from Tabuelan, Cebu, said she hopes the ABS-CBN franchise issue will be resolved soon so that it can go back on air and its employees will not suffer anymore.&quot;My hope is that ABS-CBN be made to operate again. Apart from the legal ramifications of censorship, the timing is both suspect and inhumane: people desperately need information and employment. &quot;The state can not afford to be tyrannical and vindictive at this most difficult hour,&quot; Gregorio, the lawyer, said.ABS-CBN stopped its broadcast operation after the NTC issued a cease and desist order late Tuesday.Several bills for the renewal of its franchise remain pending at the House of Representatives.<div>—With reports from Karla Thea Omelan, Jewel Reyes, RJ Rosalado and Marty Go, ABS-CBN News </div>

Some Filipinos in different parts of the country got emotional and couldn't contain their sadness over the company ceasing its broadcast operations, saying they have lost a source of information and entertainment.

Some Filipinos in different parts of the country got emotional and couldn't contain their sadness over the company ceasing its broadcast operations, saying they have lost a source of information and entertainment.