In an interview with HaPinay, a TeleRadyo program, the “Father of Philippine Christmas Music” Jose Mari Chan revealed his wish for this season.
The singer-songwriter, who admits that he is a stockholder of ABS-CBN wishes a ‘change of heart’ for Congressmen especially Reps. Rodante Marcoleta and Mike Defensor, who were the biggest antagonists of the network.
“I would like to see a change of hearts for the better, especially those congressmen that voted against the renewal of the franchise of ABS-CBN. Meaning, for them to realize that what they did was much more than what President Duterte was asking for,” Chan said.
“I’d like to see a change of heart in Marcoleta, Defensor, because they were the ones who seemed to be very angry against our network,” he added.
He also said he feels disheartened seeing people losing their jobs because of hatred between politicians and the media company.
Moreover, Chan also wishes the good health of the Filipinos at this time of the pandemic.
To recall, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a cease-and-desist order against ABS-CBN after their franchise expired on May 4. After months of scrutiny, despite clearing allegations during hearings, ABS-CBN’s bid for a franchise was still rejected by Congress with a vote of 70-11.
After that, the network was pushed to shut down its services and eventually shift to online platforms.
A retrenchment program also affected about 90% of its employees.
ABS-CBN regional network groups also terminated their broadcast.
The shut down of the network also affected innocent citizens. Just like the recent typhoon threats where people, especially in rural areas, were left uninformed about it. Considering the wide reach of the network through its regional groups, they could’ve spread news updates and weather information to more people.
