The Philippines’ longest-running newscast stayed with viewers monitoring the latest developments.
On Tuesday, March 11, the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC)’s flagship newscast, ‘The World Tonight,’ aired live following the special four-hour long marathon coverage of ‘TV Patrol.’
At helm of this special edition were Tony Velasquez inside the ABS-CBN studio and Pia Gutierrez at the Malacañang Palace.
The coverage’s highlight was its breaking news report of the departure of the chartered plane former President Rodrigo Duterte, who was ordered to be arrested by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for charges of crimes against humanity.
It also delivered the live address of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to confirm his predecessor’s departure.
Apart from the broadcast being the ‘last leg’ of the more than 13-hour-long special news coverage of ANC, it also marked the return of ‘TWT’ to its traditional late-night slot.
From its return in the late 1980s until 2015, ‘The World Tonight’ was aired each weekday evening at 10:00 pm.
However, following programming changes at ANC, in January 2015, the Phikippines’ longest-running newscast was transferred to the mid-evening time of 9:00 pm, where it has remained ever since.
Although, the delayed telecast on the Kapamilya Channel at 10:45 pm, launched in July 2020, has allowed the program to make a return of sorts to late-night television.
The special March 11 episode of the show lasted over an hour, wrapping up shortly before midnight.