The chilling effect of ABS-CBN shutdown still lingers; Philippine democracy threatened

The chilling effect of ABS-CBN shutdown still lingers; Philippine democracy threatened

2022 Marshall McLuhan Fellow Karmina Constantino

By Veronica C. Silva

The Philippine Reporter

May 23, 2023

COVID-19 pandemic may not be a global emergency anymore, but its effect in the Philippines is still far-reaching. Not just because of the thousands who have died or lost their jobs, but more so because it marks another turning point in Philippine history. It was at the height of the pandemic that the Philippines’s largest broadcaster, ABS-CBN, was ordered shut by the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

For ABS-CBN staff, including the 2022 Marshall McLuhan Fellow in journalism, Karmina Constantino, the chilling effect of the closure still lingers. And its numbing effect threatens Philippine democracy with its hallmark free press.

Such was the grim picture that the Toronto community heard from veteran broadcast journalist Constantino, who was in Canada as part of her tour as the 2022 Marshall McLuhan Fellow for Excellence in Journalism. Constantino was recognized for her “unflinching commitment to speak truth to power.”

Part of the audience

On May 14, Constantino, an anchor for ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), spoke at Filipino Centre Toronto to members of the Filipino community, including Filipino-Canadian journalists and community leaders. It was one of several talks she gave in Toronto, with the other talks held in universities – University of Toronto and York University.

COVID-19 was more than a pandemic for Constantino and her ABS-CBN colleagues, fondly called “kapamilya” or family. On May 5, 2020, when their network, the biggest broadcaster in the Philippines, was ordered shut down by the National Telecommunications Commission after its franchise had lapsed.

But the closure wasn’t the end of the story, not just for ABS-CBN but for media in the Philippines, even though the media are still relentless, said Constantino.

“Even if it happened three years ago, we [ABS-CBN colleagues and I] are still reeling from it,” said Constantino.

“The chilling effect that came after across all media entities — saved for the propagandists — was numbing,” she added. “But after the initial shock, we continue to hold the powerful into account: for the countless killings, for the human rights abuses, for the gender inequality, for the social, economic and climate injustice, for the disinformation, for the culture of impunity, for the funds lost in corruption. Because that’s our job, no matter the administration. Because we are journalists. At least that’s what’s to happen, right?”

While in theory this is how a free press in a democracy should function, Constantino added, that Philippine media have resorted to self-censorship and “DIY shackling” for fear that the fate of ABS-CBN would happen to them.

“There are only a few now who remain loyal to our duty to our country and our people. But it doesn’t mean that our voices should be as low as our numbers,” she added.

She shared clippings of previous live interviews when she tried to hold public officials to account and to nip disinformation in the bud.

“We are at war with disinformation. To put a stop at deceiving the public is the game,” she said.

But while press freedom will always be under attack “from external forces and from within,” she posed the challenge: “How free or tethered our lives are, this responsibility falls on all of us.”

The departure of Rodrigo Duterte after his six-year term which ended in 2022 and the current administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, namesake of the late Martial Law dictator, do not offer relief.

She said the chilling effect of what Duterte did to ABS-CBN still lingers, such that there are some media who would rather not rock the boat lest the fate of a giant broadcaster would also befall them. “If there’s any suppression [of the press] that is happening, it is not as public as what happened during Duterte’s time,” she said during the open forum.

The Marshall McLuhan fellowship is awarded yearly by the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines.

Nova Rellosa de Leon, emcee of McLuhan event at FCT.

Lui Queano composed and sang “McLuhan Bongga.”

Mila Astorga-Garcia and Karmina Constantino

From the Filipino-Canadian Writers and Journalists Network (FCWJNet) and its co-sponsors, a big THANK YOU for the generosity of Maring Mendoza (left photo) and Alma Mendoza of Mendoza Bakery in Scarborough for their delicious ensaymada that guests enjoyed during the Marshall McLuhan presentation at Filipino Centre Toronto in Toronto featuring 2022 Fellow Karmina Constantino.