ABS-CBN Corp. is offering the government the use of its transmission network and educational programs to help with education efforts amid the new normal, where physical learning is still prohibited.
In a statement on Monday, the Lopez-led broadcaster, which recently lost its bid to renew its franchise and thereby had to close down its broadcasting operations, said it is willing to have the government use its transmission assets for the continued education of Filipino learners.
“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,” the statement read.
This, just as President Duterte, in his fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona), lashed out anew at the Lopez-led broadcast giant and described its closure as a win against the “oligarchs.”
“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,” the statement read.
ABS-CBN has produced award-winning and superior quality educational programs through its flagship channel ABS-CBN and Knowledge Channel. These programs include Sineskwela, Hiraya Manawari, and Bayani, among others. Days after the House Franchise committee voted 70-11 to reject the franchise, some quarters said one collateral damage of the network’s closure is its treasure trove of broadcast educational materials.
“While this is not expected to have any business impact [on] the company, we are hopeful that our network can help in the education of our students nationwide,” ABS-CBN’s statement read.
President Duterte during his Sona said he will not allow physical learning in the new normal, given the risks of Covid-19 transmission. Instead, he endorsed the Department of Education’s adoption of a “blended learning” approach, where different learning modalities such as online, radio, and TV are used by the learning institutions for their classes, depending on the connectivity status of their respective areas.
Image credits: AP/Aaron Favila