Well, Typhoon Ambo has entered and we can consider the sad reality that the Philippines isn't ready for disasters, right? Just recently, a news article from Interaksyon of TV5 had actually reported that closure of ABiaS-CBN operations have helped accelerate casualties in far-flung areas. Before we hashtang #DuterteResign because of ABiaS-CBN's closure - let's consider how the "best constitution in the world" had actually caused the problem. ABiaS-CBN actually violated the constitution it swore to protect. A review of the 1987 Constitution's negative list demands that all media in the Philippines mut be 100% Pinoy only. Unfortunately, it turns out that Gabby Lao Lopez III is an American citizen which is in direct violation of the 100% Pinoy owned media. That wouldn't be a problem for ABiaS-CBN if it wasn't for that lousy provision, right? Not to mention, ABiaS-CBN has several violations (such as off-shore investments) which wouldn't be a problem IF the Philippines was long open to foreign direct investment (FDI) to start with. That's why I consider ABiaS-CBN to really have a huge failure of mind.
The recent disaster that hit in far-flung areas where Ambo hit shows why nearly monopolistic or monopolistic businesses hurt customers. Is ABiaS-CBN the only channel that shares life-saving news? ABiaS-CBN apologists need to consider that their beloved network isn't the only life-saving news channel. What about GMA-7 and other free-to-air networks that run on satellite? I guess the problem has the dominance of ABiaS-CBN as the largest network. If there's nothing but ABiaS-CBN to rely on (and honestly Marcos apologists should also just f*** off too) or just the government network then what if the stations get knocked out? In ABiaS-CBN's case - it didn't do anything to fix whatever violations it had so it could continue to be free-on-air. In the case of government-only owned local networks then what if something happens to the transmissions? I wonder how in the world did those far-flung areas only get ABiaS-CBN as their source of information? The mind really boggles me as to why it seems ABiaS-CBN ends up treated as the sole source of important information. What about GMA News or TV5 News? Don't they give life-saving news too?
The scenario would've been different if the Philippines had a more competitive environment. ABiaS-CBN would still be on air until today without having to pass through unnecessary hurdles. Going beyond the duopoly of telecommunication companies or telcos would have provided fast, accessible Internet to far-flung areas. However, we're just limited to Globe and PLDT for telcos and there's Sky Internet. I think ZTE Broadband would've benefited Filipinos or if telcos from ASEAN were investing in the Philippines. Imagine those far-flung areas would've still received life-saving news from several channels and not just ABiaS-CBN. Just think if something went wrong with ABiaS-CBN then wouldn't other channels still give life-saving news? ABiaS-CBN's opposition to constitutional reform had further
The people running ABiaS-CBN probably think that only they should be the source of life-saving news rather than allow competition. I would dare believe that the SkyCable signal affecting GMA-7 was not a mere technical difficulty. Otherwise, why weren't other channels affected? If that's true then ABiaS-CBN doesn't believe in fair play and their staff only care about themselves. I remembered seeing SkyCable technicians install the lines and several PLDT and Globe lines were suddenly cut. I had to call our Internet provider to have it fixed. Was it an accident or a malicious act? I dare believe it's a malicious act. If it was an accident then they simply didn't care about having healthy competition. If they say ABiaS-CBN's existence is necessary for healthy competition then that's bogus assuming the allegations raised by GMA-7 are true. If ABiaS-CBN cared about life-saving news then they should also care about their competitors that give life-saving news. I guess they only cared more abou their wallets than keeping up with the tagline of "in service of the Filipino". Instead, with that in mind, ABiaS-CBN is in DISSERVICE of the Filipino with its high and mighty attitude.
Hopefully, areas affected will get their aid. However let this incident warn people of the consequences of Pinoy-only media and relying too much on ABiaS-CBN.
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