By ALYSSA MAE CLARIN
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Sixteen years since it first officially went on air, ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo has officially ceased its operations at 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 29.
Last month, ABS-CBN announced that TeleRadyo would cease operations at the end of June due to financial losses since 2020. This is after the non-renewal of the broadcasting giant’s franchise.
“The company is deeply saddened by this closure and having to part ways with the many passionate and committed people who have made Teleradyo an important source of news and information for many Filipinos,” ABS-CBN said in its statement.
For ABS-CBN Employees Union President Jon Villanueva, the closure of TeleRadyo is a direct consequence of the network’s denied franchise renewal. Even after three years, the impact of the closure can still be felt by the employees, he said.
“From our side, 23 employees from the rank-and-file and 10 from the supervisorial have been retrenched,” said Villanueva, adding that there was no prior warning from the management before the retrenchment.
“We hope that the new joint venture will allow the employees to keep their salaries and benefits, as well as open its doors to retrenched employees who are willing to come back,” he said.
TeleRadyo’s employees, media workers, and supporters commemorated the news channel’s sixteen years of service by conducting a short program and candle-lighting ceremony outside the ABS-CBN building on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) recalled the impact of TeleRadyo on the general public.
“Teleradyo has been the daily companion for many, it has always been a vital source of information for Filipinos,” said NUJP Secretary General Ronalyn V. Olea, adding that the organization hoped that the company had also put the welfare of their employees as a priority.
“Media workers are workers too. They have always been the company’s primary asset,” Olea said.
Broadcaster Doris Bigornia, who had been working as one of TeleRadyo’s main anchors, thanked everyone who came and lit their candles for the news channel.
“(The closing) does hurt, and it’s a heavy feeling…but this will not be our ending,” she said.
“We will still be seeing each other. Laban lang,” Bigornia said.
Meanwhile, ABS-CBN also announced that it is entering a joint venture with Prime Media Holdings Inc. owned by House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Prime Media is the joint venture’s major stockholder, owning 51 percent while 49 percent of the company remains with ABS-CBN.
The joint venture said that it will provide “accurate and balanced news and information” and create content that would be sold to cable TV, radio stations and other outlets, including Prime Media’s Philippine Collective Media Co. (PCMC).
Today, June 30, the joint venture launched its new radio station.
Meanwhile, the DWPM Radio 630 TeleRadyo Serbisyo Para sa Mamamayan will officially start airing on July 17. (AMU, RVO) 
