Today is another loss for the Filipino people

The Lobby
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I’m in tears. I’m angry. I feel helpless. :cry:

Today, the Philippine government has successfully shutdown one of our country’s biggest media and broadcasting station. There’s a pandemic. A lot of people have already lost their jobs and are struggling to put food on the table. And now, 11,000 more people (the crew, journalists, laborers, etc) from the company have joined this list. :frowning: I feel defeated.

We shouldn’t have relented. We should have shouted louder.

https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/5/5/ABSCBN-shutdown-NTC.html

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I just saw this photo on my news feed and I hope more people realize the importance of journalists, especially at a time like this. :confused:

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It’s not a matter of press freedom. They were not able to renew their franchise. Thus, they should be closed. It’s unfortunate that there will be more people losing their jobs, but that’s just something that the company should have prepared for in the beginning.

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Anyway, there are still other TV stations to watch. They’re also credible.

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I am so sorry, ria_rose. I keep hoping things will get better but I keep getting disappointed.

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It wasn’t able to reply earlier, and a lot of things have happened since but I just hope you get to read more about the issue. :blush: i hope you realize that it’s not just about having TV stations to watch. It’s about powerplay and an obvious threat to critics of the government. :smiley: I won’t argue with you anymore about this though! :slight_smile: I hope you and your family are well and have everything you need to survive the next weeks/months/years (???) of this pandemic.

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I know. :frowning: There’s a pandemic happening but a lot of people in different parts of the world are just taking advantage of this pandemic to forward their own agenda. :confused: It’s disgusting. :face_vomiting:

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I am disappointed, but not at all surprised. Unfortunately, it is in many people’s nature to be selfish.

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Well. :frowning: Unfortunately. :frowning: Anyway, I hope you’re doing well over there. How are things looking in your country?

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We’re opening up. Schools and universities will remain closed but kindergartens are opening from 22nd May - 26th May so people with young children can go back to work. Most businesses are open at a smaller capacity, everyone have to wear masks indoors, large gatherings are still not allowed. New infections have been less than new recoveries for the past two days and the people that have been hospitalized are going down. That said, I am so nervous about us opening up, I wish we could’ve waited at least another week.

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That’s true. :frowning: With everything that’s going on, the last thing we’d want to do is expose more people to the virus by opening up schools etc. :open_mouth: But then, it also makes sense because economies are already hurting. :frowning: Lives vs. Economies. :confused:

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The past few days were a national holiday here so they did only 300 - 400 tests on each of those days. It’s very concerning.
How is your country doing?

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300??? 400??? That’s crazy! :open_mouth: I don’t think a holiday is a valid excuse to not conduct more tests. :confused: But maybe for the health workers to also get time to rest? Idk. :confused:

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This Sunday it was less than 300 tests. And now they’re telling us the epidemic is ending. To say that I am sceptical is a severe understatement.