Philippine TV network’s shutdown amid pandemic sparks uproar

ABS-CBN employees light candles in solidarity as the network’s darkest hour came on May 5. — PI

MANILA (AP): Philippine church and business leaders expressed alarm Wednesday (May 6)over a government agency’s shutdown of the country’s largest TV and radio network, which has been a major provider of news on the coronavirus pandemic.

International watchdogs condemned the closure of ABS-CBN Corp, which President Rodrigo Duterte has targeted in the past for its critical coverage, as a major blow to press freedom in an Asian bastion of democracy.