MANILA, Philippines — The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) assures the public that they would not flinch from the attacks against press freedom, after the House of Representatives denied ABS-CBN’s bid for a new franchise. “[FOCAP] condemns the vote of the House of Representatives’ committee on legislative franchises to reject the license renewal of ABS-CBN, the country’s largest broadcaster, as a painful stab at press freedom,” FOCAP said in a statement on their Facebook page. “FOCAP was founded during the dark days of martial law in 1974 to safeguard press freedom. ADVERTISEMENTFOCAP echoed sentiments from other people who support ABS-CBN’s franchise bid like Vice President Leni Robredo, who underscored the network’s importance in covering the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted normal systems. It obliterates the livelihood of thousands of journalists and media workers who risk their lives each day to keep the public informed,” FOCAP said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 10, 2020 16:41 UTC