ABS-CBN Pulls Plug on 12 TV Patrol Regional Newscasts Ahead of Retrenchments
Twelve regional editions of ABS-CBN's primetime newscast TV Patrol will air their last episodes on Aug. 28, another casualty of lawmakers' decision to deny the Lopez-owned broadcaster a fresh 25-year franchise, the company said Wednesday.
For an undisclosed number of employees, Aug. 31 will also be their last day at work as a painful retrenchment program kicks in. The anchor of TV Patrol's national edition, Bernadette Sembrano, said she was retrenched as a field reporter but would stay on as newsreader.
More than delivering local news, sometimes in their areas' dialect, TV Patrol and ABS-CBN's Regional Network Group are at the forefront of covering and bringing relief during disasters -- typhoons, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
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“ABS-CBN Regional serves Filipinos in remote areas not reached by other television signals. But more than delivering breaking news, ABS CBN Regional news teams are also the first to bring aid and relief to communities struck by calamities,” said ABS-CBN Regional head Tata Sy.
The national edition of TV Patrol continues on livestreaming.
The newscasts that will bid farewell on Aug. 28 are:
- TV Patrol North Luzon (Baguio, Dagupan, Ilocos, Isabela and Pampanga)
- TV Patrol Bicol (Naga, Legazpi)
- TV Patrol Palawan
- TV Patrol Southern Tagalog (CALABARZON)
- TV Patrol Central Visayas (Cebu, Dumaguete, Bohol)
- TV Patrol Negros (Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental)
- TV Patrol Panay (Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Antique, Guimaras)
- TV Patrol Eastern Visayas (Samar, Leyte)
- TV Patrol Northern Mindanao (Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental Lanao Del Norte, CARAGA, Dipolog)
- TV Patrol South Central Mindanao (SOCSKSARGEN, Cotabato)
- TV Patrol Southern Mindanao (Davao)
- TV Patrol Chavacano (Zamboanga)