Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Filipino counterpart on the potential effect on human rights of revoking the broadcast licence of ABS-CBN; and if he will make a statement.

We are concerned by any actions that seek to curtail freedom of expression or freedom of speech in the Philippines, or elsewhere. Senior UK officials discussed media freedom in the Philippines with Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Enrique Manalo, during High Level Talks in London in November 2019. Our Embassy in Manila continues to follow developments in the case of ABS-CBN closely.