AN hour before President Rodrigo Duterte's final State of the Nation Address (Sona), the hashtag #IbalikAngABSCBN crept to the top trending spot on Twitter Philippines, displacing #Sona2021,, which dropped to third place. At exactly 3 p.m., #IbalikAngABSCBN had 23,600 tweets, while #Sona2021 had 13,400.
It was only minutes before the President's speech that #Sona2021 regained the No. 1 spot.
As of posting time-about an hour into the President's speech-ABS-CBN's hashtag registered 45,400 tweets and counting, with #Sona2021 going up from 27,800.
Tweets carrying #IbalikAngABSCBN were mostly posted by journalists and fan clubs of ABS-CBN stars. A good number were from supporters of young actors Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano-also known as the "DonBel" love team of iWantTFC's successful romantic comedy series "He's into Her"-echoing their idols' sentiments from 2020, at the height of the network's doomed franchise renewal. It can be recalled that both Pangilinan and Mariano had been very vocal in their support for their home network, posting photos of themselves carrying the #LabanKapamilya hashtag in 2020.
The DonBelle Official fan club (@DonBelleOFC) tweeted, "Everyone's childhood will not be complete without watching your shows, from entertainment, dramas up to news, all you provide is nothing but high class. One thing to be proud of. #IbalikAngABSCBN".
Mariano's official fans' club, Bellelievers Official (@BellelieversOFC) likewise tweeted, "Let our voices be heard. Let's bring ABS CBN back on air! Bellelievers supports ABS CBN. Belle's home is our home, too. #IbalikAngABSCBN".
CrizJo Official (@CrizJoOFC), fans of Criza Taa and Joao Constancia, who are also part of DonBel's series, meanwhile tweeted "ABS-CBN is not only a network, it is a family. Let our voices be heard. #IbalikAngABSCBN".
A fan of fast rising Pinoy Pop boyband BGYO @justmoiandBGYO further joined in the tweets, posting, "ABS-CBN deserves the support of all of us because at the time they lost their franchise, many lost their jobs, many also left the company, but despite of everything happen they did not stop helping all Filipinos -- #IbalikAngABSCBN".
Meanwhile, it was ABS-CBN newsman Anjo Bagaoisan (@Anjo_Bagaoisan) whose post was retweeted the most. It read, "A face of #SONA2021: Fewer sources of reliable information for millions, thousands of families' dreams jeopardized by media closures & the law wielded to cripple the press. Today, we say #Tumindig & still cry #DefendPressFreedom #IbalikAngABSCBN," beneath a protest artwork credited to Ivan Despi.
Other ABS-CBN News staffers who used the hashtag were Deputy Editor Tarra Quismundo (@TarraQuismundo) who wrote, "As President Duterte delivers his final SONA before Congress, may we never forget those who dealt death to the ABS-CBN franchise bid... #IbalikAngABSCBN," along with a photo of the 70 lawmakers who rejected the franchise bid.
Rounding up the tweets was that of Kapamilya Online World (@KOWAlerts), which boldly read, "Break us a thousand times, will bounce back a million times stronger!"
It was in July 2020 when Congress refused to renew ABS-CBN'S privilege to air on free TV following kilometric hearings at the House of Representatives which grilled the network's executives on violating labor and taxation laws among others. It is widely believed that the President's grudge on the Lopez-owned media conglomerate-which failed to air his paid political ads during the 2016 campaign-led legislators to vote against a renewal.
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