LOOK: What will happen to ABS-CBN employees after the NTC has ordered the suspension of its operations? TV host Bianca Gonzalez shared in a tweet that Kapamilya bosses assured workers that they will not lose their jobs and benefits for the next three months. @cnnphilippines pic.twitter.com/Zvx3w0jtpR
— Tristan Nodalo (@TristanNodalo) May 5, 2020
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 6) — The Duterte administration is studying the inclusion of 11,000 ABS-CBN workers affected by the media giant’s closure through the government’s COVID-19 cash assistance programs.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Wednesday said while the circumstances are different, the affected artists, production crew and staff may be eligible to claim cash for two months through the government’s “Small Business Wage Subsidy Program” — which is seen to help middle-class families during the health crisis.
“Ang alam ko ‘yung programa for SME dapat continuous ang employment. Dahil itong pangyayaring ito na nawalan sila ng trabaho na hindi naman nila ninais, hindi naman sila nag-resign, at hindi naman po nag-voluntarily shutdown ang ABS-CBN, baka maipasok natin sila sa programa ng SMEs para makakuha sila ng panandaliang dalawang buwan na ayuda,” he said in an interview on state-owned television network PTV.
[Translation: The SME program is intended for those who are still employed. This incident has left workers without jobs, but they did not resign, nor did ABS-CBN want to voluntarily shutdown. But I think they can be eligible under the SME program that will give them two months of financial assistance.]
Under the program, the affected workers will receive financial assistance worth P5,000 to P8,000, depending on the minimum wage in their region.
Roque said he will discuss with Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III the situation of 11,000 media workers as thousands of Filipinos grapple with holding on to their jobs amid the health pandemic and lockdown restrictions.
ABS-CBN TV host Bianca Gonzalez said the network’s bosses assured no worker will be retrenched amid the closure. She said that during a live chat, the network’s executives vowed all employment benefits, including medical assistance, will be available to all workers for three months regardless of the company’s unsure future.
ABS-CBN’s 11,000 employees were put in a precarious position after the country’s broadcasting network went off air on Tuesday night.
This came hours after the National Telecommunications Commission ordered it to stop its operations due to the expiration of its legislative franchise, walking back on its promise to legislators last March to issue a provisional permit pending its renewal. The move has been denounced by various media and human rights groups as an assault on press freedom at a time when credible information is crucial in addressing the COVID-19 crisis.
President Rodrigo Duterte has been publicly ranting against ABS-CBN since assuming office, saying the network refused to carry his campaign commercials even if they have been already paid for.
In 2018, Duterte said he will block the renewal of the network’s franchise. Last year, he told the Lopez family to just sell the company to a new owner to boost its chances of staying in business.
However, the President accepted the apology offered by ABS-CBN President Carlo Katigbak during a Senate hearing for airing an anti-Duterte ad during the 2016 campaign which was paid for by the opposition.
