Media critic Vergel Santos expressed frustration with ABS-CBN’s offer to the government to use its transmission network for distance learning, saying that this was a display of the company’s “meekness” towards the government.
In an interview with ANC’s Matters of Fact, Vergel Santos, a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Center for Media Freedom and Accountability, said that ABS-CBN’s offer was “very disappointing” and that the network had “weak understanding of meekness as a virtue.”
“Does ABS-CBN really think that given the nature of this government, those facilities would be used for proper education and not indoctrination or brainwashing? Does ABS-CBN want to be in the end accused of complicity in this regime?”
Santos even warned the media giant for allowing the government to use its facilities as the country prepares for “blended learning” for the coming school year.
“It seems that ABS-CBN has a poor appreciation of meekness as a virtue and now it is even offering or agreeing, in any case, to allow the government to run its facilities for education.”
The former member of the Board of Trustees of CMFA still can’t stand how ABS CBN decided to offer its transmission network for educational programs to help government educate students,
“No, this is not magnanimity, this is terror. ABS-CBN has been cowed into that kind of meekness. From the beginning, ABS-CBN has been simply too meek going into that hearing. I do not understand how it could stand all the savaging it got from Congress without putting in some bold word or protest. I can’t understand.
“I find it even more incredible now that ABS-CBN is even helping this government by allowing it to run its own facilities ostensibly for education,” Santos added. “The more you’re meek, the more you’re trampled upon.”
Recently, ABS-CBN offered its transmission network to support government air education initiatives in the coming school year, which will see a change from conventional classroom education to distance learning.
The media giant network published a statement on how they want to help the educational problem of the country especially in this time of pandemic.
“Our commitment to the public is for ABS-CBN to continue serving the Filipino in whatever capacity we can.
“In response to the educational thrust of the government in this time of the pandemic, we are offering the use of our transmission network to broadcast educational programs all over the country. We hope to help the government continuously educate students nationwide despite the limitations brought about by the pandemic. On top of our transmission network, we are also offering the use of all the educational programs we have produced over the past 20 years.”
