A visibly upset Coco Martin went on a tirade over the government’s decision to force his home network, ABS-CBN, off the air. In a Facebook Live video event dubbed “Laban Kapamilya” on Friday night, the “Ang Probinsyano” star pulled no punches in railing against a cease-and-desist order on the broadcaster and called on fellow celebrities to push back.

Coco Martin attends a rally in support of ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal in February 2020. Alec Corpuz, ABS-CBN News/file

“Diplomacy cannot fight this. We have been robbed. We have been terrorized. Our house has been taken. What can we expect? We will pray for them? We have prayed for them. We have endured them. We must act. Let’s speak out,” he said.

“Because if we all stay silent, we will be abused . . . Because this is our chance. We no longer have a job. What are we going to protect?”

The Kapamilya actor lashed out at the government for shutting down the company that has helped communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What should we prioritize now? Eliminate the company that helps our neighbors, all Filipinos, or the gambling that is being brought into our country? Better yet, the POGO, you are fighting against. This company that helps all the people now, you have closed it down,” Martin said.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s remark that ABS-CBN employees can ask for aid from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) following the network’s closure also didn’t sit well with Martin.

“You can’t supply the entire Philippines, and we’re going to add to it?” he said.

Martin, dubbed the “Teleserye King,” stressed that ABS-CBN and his fellow celebrities immediately responded to the COVID-19 crisis.

“Because this is our opportunity to help. Because what others can’t do, we will do. Because it’s embarrassing for you,” he said.

Martin said he wouldn’t allow ABS-CBN to close down, the network that gave him his big break in showbiz.

“I have no talent. I’m small. I’m ugly. I’m black. I’m dumb. I don’t know English. I don’t have the capacity, I don’t have the qualities to be an artist, but that’s not what ABS-CBN looks at. What they look at is your capacity to work and show your talent,” he said.

And if it involves his family, he said he would fight tooth and nail.

“If my family is betrayed, no matter who you are, I will fight you to the death, even if you kill me,” he said.

The National Telecommunications Commission on Tuesday issued a cease-and-desist order on the country’s largest entertainment and media conglomerate following the expiration of its franchise.

The Kapamilya network, which reaches millions of Filipinos through its television, radio and online platforms, halted broadcast operations.

This, despite 11 bills renewing its congressional franchise remain lodged in Congress as the House of Representatives has yet to

Amid accusations of alleged abuses, such as offering a pay-per-view service and operating multiple channels, ABS-CBN has repeatedly said it did not break the law in its decades-old service.