ABS-CBN President and Chief Executive Officer Carlo Katigbak, the “father” of the 11 thousand strong employees of the Kapamilya network. said during the congressional inquiry last Tuesday, they will soon release a list of workers who will be relieved from their jobs because of ABS-CBN’s shutdown.
In the course of joint committee hearing of the House committee on legislative franchises and committee on good government and public accountability, Katigbak said they are not trying to get public sympathy but they are solely appealing for the welfare of the 11,000 workers who might lose their jobs.
“We want to do everything we can to protect our employees pero may hangganan din ang kakayahan ng kumpanya namin habang wala kami sa ere, palaki ng palaki ang nalulugi sa amin,” Katigbak told lawmakers.
“At sa mga darating na linggo, mapipilitan na kaming maglabas ng listahan ng mga empleyadong mawawalan ng trabaho. Sana makita ng Kongreso na nasa kapangyarihan ninyo ang kinabukasan nila,” he added.
Since the forced shutdown on May 5, ABS-CBN has lost 30 to 35 million in revenue daily. If they cannot go back on air by August, they will have to consider a retrenchment process.
On May 5, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a cease and desist order against ABS-CBN, directing the network to stop its broadcast operations after its franchise expired on May 4.
The 11 bills seeking the renewal of franchise of ABS-CBN remain pending before the House committee on legislative franchises, the earliest of which, at least in the 18th Congress, was filed in July 2019.
