Veteran ABS-CBN journalist Ces Oreña-Drilon said Thursday she was part of ABS-CBN Corp’s painful job cuts, providing a glimpse at the extent of the retrenchments that will take effect at the end of August.
Lopez-owned ABS-CBN announced the retrenchment program on July 15, without saying how many of its 11,000 workers would be affected. The network, which was denied a fresh 25-year franchise by Congress, however said laid off workers would get separation or retirement benefits and job replacement assistance.
Drilon is head of content acquisition at ABS-CBN's Lifestyle group. In late 2017, she stepped down as lead anchor of the late-night newscast “Bandila.” She also sat on the anchor’s chair at the flagship newscast “TV Patrol” and “The World Tonight” before prime time news shifted to Tagalog from English.
“This was one of the toughest days I had to face. Telling fellow kapamilyas that they would lose their jobs by end of August. I lost mine too,” Drilon said in a tweet.
“Babangon din ang mga #kapamilya. This may be our darkest hour. But don’t lose hope,” she said.
Drilon’s contemporary, Korina Sanchez, is also a casualty of the broadcast shutdown. Sanchez’s Sunday night magazine show, “Rated K” will fold after 16 years as production on current affairs shows stopped, PEP reported on July 15.
ABS-CBN signed off on May 5, a day after its franchise expired. Last July 10, the House franchise committee voted to deny its franchise application after marathon hearings that subjected top executives to intense questioning on legality of ownership and alleged news bias. ABS-CBN's leaders denied all allegations of misconduct.