Actor Coco Martin, star of long-running ABS-CBN TV show Ang Probinsyano called out the apparent “jackassery” that the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and Solicitor General Jose Calida had purportedly dealt on Filipinos, hours after the media giant was forced to shut down in the absence of a legislative franchise.
Read: BREAKING: NTC tells ABS-CBN to cease broadcast operations due to expired franchise
The irate 38-year-old actor took to Instagram last night, where he wrote that he couldn’t “contain the anger I was feeling. It’s tiring to keep quiet and exercise restraint when those around you are heartless.”
NTC had promised to grant the network a temporary license to operate pending a fresh 25-year franchise renewal. However, Calida warned that NTC could be issued a graft charge if it granted the network the provisional license, saying it had no power to do so. The commission yesterday ordered ABS-CBN to cease its broadcast operations, and the company was forced to go off air last night.
“What kind of people would do this? You know ABS-CBN’s closure means the unemployment of several thousand employees and their families. Thousands of families will go hungry, [and amid] everything that’s going on in the world today. Did you really prioritize the closure of a station that supports the lives of so many Filipinos?” Martin said in Filipino.
“Since I’m not sure if I’ll come out of this pandemic alive, it’s just right that I express my thoughts. To the people who forced ABS-CBN to shut down, I hope your consciences are clean. I hope this brings calm to your hearts,” Martin wrote.
“NTC, I hope this brings you so much happiness!” he added sarcastically.
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“I won’t mince words when expressing my feelings to people like you [NTC, Calida] who do not deserve to be shown diplomacy and gentleness. What you need is rude and shameless talk! I come from [ a background] of great hardships, and I’m not cool, so I don’t care what you say.”
“I may not be smarter than most, but it is clear to me that stripping thousands of employees jobs from a company that has served the country for decades is WRONG and UNJUST!” The actor made another pass at NTC and sarcastically called out the Solicitor General for his contribution to the country in closing down the network.
“Thank you very much Solicitor General Jo[s]e Calida and the people who comprise the National Telecommunications Commission for your contribution to our nation! YOU’RE MAKING A JACKASS OUT OF FILIPINOS!” He ended in all caps.
The indie-film prince turned primetime TV action star is best known for his role as Ricardo “Cardo” Dalisay, a fictional hero cop who champions the masses, and is beloved by the primetime viewing public. This is the reason the long-running action drama has stretched on for more than five years since the reboot of the ’90s film of the same name first aired in 2016.
It’s notoriously long run on TV has birthed jokes from even fellow ABS-CBN mainstays. And it would seem this time, that only NTC and Calida were able to stop the show from airing.
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