UPDATE 2-Philippine lawmakers block license bid for broadcaster that angered Duterte

* 'Black day for media freedom' - Human Rights Watch
* Duterte "neutral" on license issue - spokesman
* ABS-CBN upset Duterte by not airing campaign ads
* Critics say Duterte determined to crush dissent

(Adds new details throughout)
By Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales
MANILA, July 10 (Reuters) - Philippine lawmakers rejected
the renewal of a 25-year license for country's top broadcaster
on Friday, outraging activists who saw the move to keep ABS-CBN
Corp off the air as part of a political vendetta on behalf of
President Rodrigo Duterte.
A legislative committee overwhelmingly agreed with a working
group's assessment that ABS-CBN ABS.PS , which employs 11,000
people and has an audience of tens of millions of Filipinos, was
"undeserving of the grant of legislative franchise".
Aides to Duterte, 75, sought to distance the president from
the decision, as activists have accused him of using courts,
Congress and regulatory bodies to systematically stamp out
opposition to his popular autocracy.
Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director,
called it "a black day for media freedom" and "an astounding
display of obsequious behaviour" by lawmakers kowtowing to
Duterte.
"This move solidifies the tyranny of President Rodrigo
Duterte," he said.
It comes a week after the passing of a controversial
anti-terror law that Duterte fast-tracked through the
legislature, granting his security chiefs powers to arrest and
detain without charge or judicial approval anyone they consider
a "terrorist".
Critics fear it will be used as a weapon to target dissent,
including journalists, bloggers, lawyers and civil society
groups seeking his international indictment for thousands of
killings in his war on drugs. 'NEUTRAL'
ABS-CBN has been on tenterhooks since Duterte took office in
2016 and started threatening to block its renewal bid, in
furious public outbursts stemming from the network's failure to
air some of his paid election campaign commercials. It has since
apologised.
Under Duterte, the market value of ABS-CBN has slumped 69%
to $257 million. His spokesman, Harry Roque, said the president
had always had "a neutral stance" on the franchise issue.
It was not immediately clear what the next steps would be
for ABS-CBN, which continues to operate online, on cable and on
social media, which are not impacted.
"This is a painful and sad day," said Regina Reyes, head of
its news and current affairs.
"You feel your entire life's work was disregarded," she
said, fighting back tears.
ABS-CBN's 21 radio and 38 television stations are a staple
of news and entertainment across the Philippines and to the
Filipino Diaspora, generating big advertising revenues from
brands keen to tap mass audiences drawn to its talent shows,
dramas and glamorous celebrities.
A caravan of cars carrying ABS-CBN employees and stars
holding placards defending the network and media freedom circled
the house. Its franchise loss was a top-trending issue on social
media, with models and actors weighing in with support.
The decision follows a high-profile guilty verdict in a
recent libel case against Maria Ressa, chief of news website
Rappler, whose investigative reporting has frustrated the inner
circle of Duterte, a maverick former mayor. Rappler is fighting several other legal cases filed by the
state.

(Editing by Martin Petty and Ed Davies)