The Philippines' largest television network, which refused to air Duterte's 2016 presidential campaign, has been forced off air, striking a blow to media freedom

• On Tuesday, the Philippines' largest television network ABS-CBN was ordered to stop broadcasting.
• The order didn't come out of nowhere. President Rodrigo Duterte has been feuding with ABS-CBN since the network refused to air his 2016 presidential campaign ads.
• The station has also closely documented Duterte's deadly war on drugs, which has seen thousands of people killed.
• The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines told The New York Times that ABS-CBN's closure sent a clear message: "What Duterte wants, Duterte gets."
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The Philippines' largest television news broadcaster has been ordered off the air by the government, and watchdogs are calling it a blow to the country's press freedom.

On Tuesday, the National Telecommunications Commission, the Philippines' media regulator, told ABS-CBN it had to stop broadcasting.

The network's broadcasting license expired because lawmakers aligned with President Rodrigo Duterte, a long-time critic of the network, purposefully stalled work on bills that would have allowed the network to remain on the air, according to CBS News.

ABS-CBN, which employs about 11,000 people and produces news, entertainment shows, and sports coverage, said it would follow the regulator's order and switched off on Tuesday evening, according to The New York Times.

But the company released a statement that warned: "Millions of Filipinos will lose their source of news and entertainment when ABS-CBN is ordered to go off the air on TV and radio tonight when people need crucial and timely information as the nation deals with the COVID-19 pandemic."

It's the first time this has happened to a major network in the Philippines since Duterte became president. But the order didn't come out of nowhere. Duterte has been feuding with ABS-CBN since the network refused to air his 2016 presidential campaign ads, the BBC reported.

Once he was elected, the network also closely documented his controversial war on drugs, which has seen thousands die in extrajudicial killings by police.

Duterte's relationship with the media, in general, has been strained. According to The New York Times, he's called reporters "sons of b------," said that none should be exempt from assassination, and told some that they were spies.

He also went after another news outlet, Rappler, which now faces nearly a dozen court cases for its coverage of Duterte's war on drugs. Maria Ressia, who runs the outlet, said she has faced death threats and is facing a possible prison sentence as a result, telling CBS News that Duterte was trying to silence and manipulate the press.

In regard to the closure of ABS-CBN, The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines told The New York Times it sent a "clear message: What Duterte wants, Duterte gets. And it is clear, with this brazen move to shut down ABS-CBN, that he intends to silence the critical media and intimidate everyone else into submission."

• Read more:
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• Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says coronavirus troublemakers will be shot dead by the military
• Open coffins are left on roads to remind people to stay inside while soldiers shoot disinfectant from water cannons. Here's what lockdown for 57 million people in the Philippines looks like.

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