Laguna 3rd Representative Sol Aragones on Tuesday had taken up the cudgels for millions of viewers and thousands of workers who will be adversely affected by the closure of ABS-CBN.
Aragones, who began her career as an ABS-CBN reporter before running for public office, reminded her colleagues at the House of Representatives that over 11,000 employees will lose their jobs if the network stops its operations.
“This issue involves not just one network, but the lives of many.”
“At present, ABS-CBN employs over 11,000 employees and talents nationwide as well as those stationed abroad in areas like North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia,” said the lawmaker.
“These are Filipinos who work daily to entertain our countrymen, who toil tirelessly to bring them news and information that matters, and who help improve lives with public service programs and projects––and their voices deserve to be heard,” said the solon.
According to Aragones, many employees of the network––some of whom have worked for ABS-CBN their entire lives––have approached her and several other legislators to appeal for the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise.
“They belong to an industry that cannot realistically absorb 11,000 unemployed individuals. If the ABS-CBN franchise is allowed to expire at the end of March, (these) 11,000 people will be getting their last paychecks and will be unable to provide for their families,” lamented Aragones.
Aside from employees of the network, Aragones said ABS-CBN has millions of viewers and listeners that depend on the network for news and entertainment.
“Channel 2 and TV Plus combined have 72.3 million viewers, with an additional 3.5 million viewers from abroad. Its FM and AM radio networks, on the other hand, attract 11.2 million listeners a day,” revealed Aragones.
“This issue involves not just one network, but the lives of many. Naniniwala pa din ako at kumakapit sa pag-asa na mare-renew pa din ang franchise ng ABS-CBN.”