ABS-CBN Shutdown: Once More, the Trauma

One Saturday morning in September 1972, I left for work early because it was going to be a busy day -- we were going to shoot a promo announcing the first nationwide broadcast of ABS-CBN, then as now, the Philippines' largest network. The sight that confronted me was chilling: Metrocom soldiers in full battle gear were guarding the gates of the sprawling complex in Bohol Avenue, Quezon City. Across the street, my fellow employees gathered, faces perplexed and fearful. It took a while before the collective whisper reached me: martial law had been declared, and just like that we lost our jobs, our personal stuff in our offices inside, and our freedom.

I didn't realize how deeply embedded that trauma is in my psyche until I woke up this morning to the news that ABS-CBN, the network that has since expanded tenfold since our time, has been ordered closed by the Duterte administration's National Telecommunications Commission. Once again, I felt shivers down my spine. The end was just as dramatic as 1972 -- one minute viewers were watching a regular news program; the next, the screen just went dark.

Beyond the legalese and the sycophantic justifications, we know that ABS-CBN has once again fallen prey to political vindictiveness that goes all the way to the top. It was that way in 1972, albeit under different circumstances; it is the same reason now. Talk about ill-timed and ill-conceived. With the country reeling from a pandemic and its subsequent economic turmoil, when information dissemination is vital, the nation's largest broadcast network is silenced. 

This story of course is just beginning. It took 14 years and a dictator's ouster for ABS-CBN to rise again. Will history repeat itself?

Our stories this week:

US Marines veteran and military brat Alex G. Fabros Jr. tells a cautionary tale of how an epidemic victimized his childhood friends in "Do You Remember Polio?"

Retired Philippine ambassador Virgilio Reyes Jr. relates his Covid-19 story in "Living with Corona, a New Yorker's Perspective."

For those in search of good books to read in quarantine, history professor Vicente L. Rafael shares his "Lockdown Reading List: Filipino Fiction (Mostly)."

To celebrate Mother's Day, I wrote down my thoughts on motherhood, "Love, Patience and Renewal."

Read Again Carolyn Prasad's touching tribute to her "mail-order bride" mother, "The Making of a Matriarch." 

And Cathy S. Babao's story about "A Lesson My Mom, the Actress Caridad Sanchez, Told Me" 

For the Happy Home Cook, treat yourself to a repeat of Elizabeth Ann Quirino's Mango Refrigerator Cake, because it's May and mangoes are in season. Plus, hopefully, you've been good in quarantine. 

Here are this week's links to stories you have to read: 

Commentary: Racism is the other virus sweeping America during this pandemic
https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-coronavirus-asian-americans-morita-20200420-ep3bmn3tincczfihw3qvl64boa-story.html?fbclid=IwAR3G9NjNjFhxwBKVTWFSZWMbo5XjmyezMeB7APFYs4LGQ-QxirXK-6KwZ5s

Philippine nurses, long treated like exports, now told to stay home to fight coronavirus
https://news.yahoo.com/philippine-nurses-long-treated-exports-013256696.html

The Philippine Peso’s Resilience Is a Risk to the Economy
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/philippine-peso-resilience-risk-economy-221454976.html

'Second tragedy': Cremation traumatises in virus-hit Philippines
https://news.yahoo.com/second-tragedy-cremation-traumatises-virus-hit-philippines-043849393.html

The Heartbreaking ‘Last Shift’ of a New York City Nurse
https://ph.news.yahoo.com/heartbreaking-last-shift-york-city-170412559.html

Which ABS-CBN businesses can still operate after NTC's cease and desist order?
https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/05/20/which-abs-cbn-businesses-can-still-operate-after-ntcs-cease-and-desist-order?fbclid=IwAR1w8Z5dLemXle9LzpyL28VeNw0VTv3vuoX0xlYzQi9h4l9LCMC7iVNJTYM 

For video of week, the Filipino-American Airmen community of the US Air Force put together their version of the “Don’t Rush Challenge” on social media

A Pilgrimage and Processions

The artist France Viana, seeking inspiration for her participation in an exhibition to celebrate the agricultural roots of Asian Americans, drove to Delano, California, where Filipino manongs asserted their leadership in the Grape Strike of 1965 that lasted five years. She got more than she bargained for -- inspiration, a valuable history lesson and an emotional bond with the spirits of long-departed manongs. Read "It Takes a Pilgrimage" and appreciate the provenance of her interactive installation, Halo-Hallowed Ground. 

May, the month of Santacruzan and Flores de Mayo in our homeland, is similarly celebrated in some Fil-Am communities in the US. Taking part in these celebrations is a significant emotional draw for first-generation immigrant children, as psychologist/author BJ Gonzalvo dissects in "Transcendental May Filipino Traditions."

Meanwhile in distant Samar, journalist/author Criselda Yabes tells an enchanting story about Capul Island, where a gleaming lighthouse dominates the rustic scenery. You might want to plan a trip "To the Lighthouse -- on Capul Island."

As the summer heat begins, how about a refreshing Mango Refrigerator Cake for the Happy Home Cook. Our resident food expert Elizabeth Ann Quirino shares her recipe that uses fresh mangoes.

In case you missed them, links to keep you In The Know:

UnNews: An index of unreliable news websites
https://www.poynter.org/ifcn/unreliable-news-index/?fbclid=IwAR0TM_cNgwKBFIzfpMZwd68M4Hdbbrf0KRo58nLfXf61w4P2DRN7bKv5ij0

A History of Why Filipinos Are Obsessed with Skin Whitening
https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/lifestyle/why-filipinos-obsess-over-skin-whitening-a00293-20190426?fbclid=IwAR01LZRtuzhWwn_dnz9w3f2uBAs5BxjARUIIQnb8w0X10HaroBoJbDYCWDk

PH now one of world’s top agri-tourism destinations
https://business.inquirer.net/269437/ph-now-one-of-worlds-top-agri-tourism-destinations?fbclid=IwAR2dhRnl79E04sPz18yX2M4fl9t16KI-RaInSa9tRemZ0NSYSEEVJvzE184

U.S. Army soldier returns home to PH, helps build school
https://usa.inquirer.net/28236/u-s-army-soldier-returns-home-to-ph-helps-build-school?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1PGtEINkRaotiwuBSqMDBPcfgwGKdhCGIwTZy0pNTN512cglXFkUTSPVU#Echobox=1556133071

For Video of the Week, we feature the popular a capella group The Filharmonic as they guest on James Corden’s Late, Late Show.