BY NESTOR CUARTERO
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JUST A THOUGHT: “Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” – Gloria Steinem
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FATE OF STARS: What fate awaits the stars and starlets of ABS-CBN?
Now that the giant network, the largest in the country, has been totally cut off the air, what happens to their stable of actors?
Following the suspension of free TV operations in May and the subsequent cancellation by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) of its digital platforms in July, many of the country’s brightest, most talented actors and actresses are suddenly without jobs.
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STAR MAKER: ABS-CBN is home to some of the best and the brightest in the entertainment industry. Consider: Piolo Pascual, John Lloyd Cruz, Jericho Rosales, Liza Soberano, Enrique Gil, Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla, James Reid, Nadine Lustre, Bea Alonzo, Angel Locsin, Toni Gonzaga, Luis Manzano, Angelica Panganiban, Judy Ann Santos, Kim Chiu, Gerald Anderson, among so many others.
In the middle of this pandemic, they are suddenly without livelihood.
Note that while acting is their main occupation, artists get so much more through endorsements, advertisements. The popularity brought about by their TV and movie projects helps them land hefty contracts as endorsers.
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HOPEFULLY TEMPORARILY: Before the NTC cancelled the operation of the network’s digital platforms, shows like “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” and “Love Thy Woman” have resumed filming.
Some network shows were in fact seen in ABS-CBN’s related platforms, like Jeepney TV and DZMM teleradyo.
All those are gone now, but hopefully for the moment only.
Aside from feeling sorry for the plight of its stars, we feel just as sad for network’s 11,000 plus employees. They have just joined the country’s growing ranks of unemployed.
