CNN Philippines Shuts Down & The Charter Change Debacle

I used to shy away from the news but I've come to like reading some of them while contributing and adding data to the #newsonleo via threads. Today, let me highlight some of the trending ones, particularly in my country, the Philippines. They had been in the headlines for a few days now.

CNN Franchise Reached Its Final Page

I first read a few days ago that the local franchise of the Cable News Network (CNN), a US-based news channel was going to shut down. Then it was confirmed by an announcement yesterday morning by Nine Media Corporation (NMC) of the ALC Group of Companies citing 'serious financial losses' as the reason for the closure.

According to information, CNN Philippines started in 2015 with a 5-year term then it was extended until the end of 2024. Unfortunately, the extension term ended sooner than the contract term, and will officially cease operations on all its media platforms tomorrow, 31st of January.

Its last show that aired was "New Day," the English language morning newscast that delivers headlines during the weekdays from 6:00 to 7:30 AM. The newscasters bid their farewell as the station signed off. I do hope that the affected employees are given their due benefits and severance pays.

Charter Change Bids

This isn't new at all. It has been getting into the headlines even years ago. It faded for a while then the talks started again last year. What exactly is it? Here's a brief info (but there's more to it than these):

👉 Charter Change (Cha-Cha) refers to the legal and political processes of amending the country's Constitution.¹

👉 The proponents wanted to change some of the economic provisions of the country's 1987 Constitution saying some of it is prohibitive and no longer adaptive to the country's needs in this digital era. They propose some amendments (i.e. allowing foreigners to acquire and own lands and natural resources) that they say will attract foreign investments and will, in turn, make the country more competitive economically.²

👉 Other proposals include the proposal to eliminate the term limit of elected officials and change the government into Federalism.

Cha-Cha Debates Continue

Anyway, this has caused rifts and constant bickering between people, politicians (Congress and Senate), and others.

The recent headlines included the alliance between Marcos Jr. (the current president and Duterte (the country's former leader) being shaken due to differences and this ChaCha thing added to it. Duterte recently warned Marcos not to continue with the Charter Change or he would be ousted from office like his father.

The majority of the Senators are against ChaCha while most of the leaders in the House of Representatives are banding with each other and support the change.

Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections halted the People's Initiative proceedings (a petition signed by at least 12% of the total number of registered voters, collected from different parts of the country), saying it needs to "review, enhance and put additional provisions in our implementing rules and regulations (IRR) concerning the people’s initiative" to avoid confusion and misinterpretation of the law.³