Bacus, Johanna Isabel C. BS Psych 4 May 27, 2020
Bacus, Johanna Isabel C. BS Psych 4 May 27, 2020
Bacus, Johanna Isabel C. BS Psych 4 May 27, 2020
The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is the major global health crisis of our time and
the main challenge we have faced and we are still facing since the World War II. As we all are
aware of what is going on in our world during these trying times, most of us are struggling
especially in adjusting to the do’s and don’ts, the what should and what should not be done in
order to lessen and prevent spreading the virus by testing and treating patients, cancelling
large gatherings like schools, events, church, sports, entertainment like concerts and most
especially quarantining citizens. Every day is a battle, the outbreak of this virus was a rush
and is moving through waves and not all individuals are coping to it every day, this pandemic
has the potential to damage the social, economic and political crises that will leave weighty
scars. People are losing their jobs and income, with the uncertainty in mind when will all of
this be over. There are a lot of issues or problems during this crisis, I would like to focus on
one of the local issues which is the shutdown of the media giant the ABS CBN, not everyone
is questioning the shutdown of this network, some may only see this as a minor issue when in
fact, thousands of employees are losing their jobs and the freedom of the press. The question
here is, was it the best decision to prioritize the shutdown of the network? Is it moral to take
away much needed information and livelihood of thousands amidst a pandemic?
Natural law ethics, like the other ethical traditions, originates with the understanding
of the meaning of what is good. According to Aristotle, good meant virtuous. But according to
the natural law theory, good means consistent with the natural purposes of things. Things of
natural purposes means, for example, the purpose of my feet is to walk and when I ascribe the
natural purpose to something, this is known as teleology. The natural law is the rational
being’s participation in or interpretation of the eternal law. Furthermore, according to Thomas
Aquinas, there are two more aspects to Aristotle’s knowledge and sociability of human nature.
These of which are the sense that we are naturally given to the procreative act and also to the
preservation of our lives in this world. Aristotle stated that virtue exist in order to translate
feelings and emotions into right action. This action is very similar to what Aquinas means by
the person’s inclinations to do certain things. An example of this are the natural objects that
are inclined towards certain behaviors. The difference between a natural thing and human
being is that we are free to initiate actions on our own but a pebble is not. A pebble can
initiate nothing, it must require a force outside of itself to be set in motion, whereas the
principle that sets humans in motion is freedom (Brezinsky, 2016). This is relevant to the
freedom of the press such as in the case of the ABS-CBN channel shut down in the
Philippines, whose freedom to deliver information to the public is prevented by this
shutdown. It is crucial that there is access to credible information that addresses the spread of
COVID-19 during these times. This becomes difficult with the ABS-CBN channel being cut
off the air. With losing this channel, we have lost a voice that majority of the Filipino people
rely on for critical information on how to combat this pandemic, personally and how to
protect their family members from this dangerous virus (Lalu, 2020). This is relevant to the
need to preserve our lives in this world. The workers of ABS-CBN are now facing the
uncertainty of trying to make a living for themselves, their families, and even fellow Filipinos
during this crucial time. This pandemic has made information on COVID-19 an essential
commodity. President Duterte’s government has assigned the closing of ABS-CBN due to the
anomalies in licensing renewals. However, his critics state that the move was an addition to
the evidence of a growing domineering government making use of the COVID crisis to crack
down on dissent. (Gutierrez, 2020). The press protects the truth along with all the other
freedoms that the Filipino enjoy each day. The daily information that the media distributes to
the Filipino people allows for them to make critical decisions regarding their life matters
while enabling them to demand better services from the government (Lalu, 2020). Other
critics point out that the timing of the ABS-CBN shutdown fits perfectly for the government’s
agenda in avoiding any protests such as on the streets due to the reason that the people are
now more reluctant to come out and express their outrage via mass gathering (Mateo, 2020).
Resources:
Brezinsky, M. B. (2016). The Ethics of Freedom: A Unified Framework for Teaching Ethics
in the Community College. Retrieved from:
https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.apaonline.org/resource/collection/30C25598-2725-4DF4-
BFC8B3CDDB85C47C/TwoyearV16n1.pdf
Lalu, G.P. (2020). ABS-CBN closure by NTC worsens labor problems caused by COVID-19 –
CHR. Retrieved from: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1270376/ntcs-shutting-down-of-abs-cbn-
worsens-labor-problems-brought-by-covid-19-chr#ixzz6NcQDe3wF
Gutierrez, J. (2020). Duterte’s Shutdown of TV Network Leaves Void Amid Coronavirus Crisis.
Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/14/world/asia/duterte-philippines-tv-network-
ABS-CBN.html
Mateo, J., (2020). ABS-CBN Shutdown Blasted as Ill-timed, Heartless, Treacherous, Oppressive,
A Vendetta and Diversionary Tactic. Retrieved from: https://www.onenews.ph/abs-cbn-shutdown-
blasted-as-ill-timed-heartless-treacherous-oppressive-a-vendetta-and-diversionary-tactic?
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