TV Patrol Is Back

ABS-CBN’s flagship Filipino newscast has made an astounding comeback.

On May 5, 2020, the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease and desist order against ABS-CBN Corporation. The order made Channel 2, DZMM, MOR, and regional TV and radio stations sign off abruptly that evening, with the end of TV Patrol’s broadcast that serving as both a bold statement and a call for action with regards to their franchise renewal issue. After the shutdown of the main channel, many people have expected the abovementioned episode to be TVP’s last for the time being.

But on May 7, 2020, ABS-CBN News did the unexpected. They will be putting the trio of Ted Failon, Bernadette Sembrano, and ‘Kabayan’, Noli de Castro back on air. TV Patrol is back.

At 6:25pm, the newscast simultaenously started online via Facebook, YouTube, and iWant, as well as on the ABS-CBN News Channel and worldwide via TFC The Filipino Channel.

The comeback edition of the show mainly featured the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the controversy surrounding the ABS-CBN shutdown.

By the end of the newscast, De Castro announced the comeback of another Kapamilya channel, TeleRadyo. It is set to return from 6 in the morning tomorrow, and will temporarily be available only to Sky Cable channel 26, TVplus channel 5, online and overseas via TFC.

With one of the country’s top newscast back in the airwaves, it is the symbol that ABS-CBN is indeed and still “in the service of the Filipino” amidst the ongoing situation.