The leading broadcast network in the Philippines went off the air under government order Tuesday, sparking shock over the loss of a major news provider during the coronavirus pandemic and accusations of targeting a presidential critic.
The National Telecommunications Commission ordered ABS-CBN Corp. to stop operating after its 25-year congressional franchise ended Monday.
The network’s application for a renewal has been pending in Congress, which is controlled by President Rodrigo Duterte’s allies, but hearings have been delayed, in part by a coronavirus lockdown.
ABS-CBN, one of the country’s oldest and most influential networks, broadcast on TV and radio for most of Tuesday but later went off the air. “Millions of Filipinos will lose.