Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 4) — A party-list lawmaker has filed a resolution urging the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to suspend the operations of Sonshine Media Network Inc. (SMNI) for allegedly violating the terms and conditions of its franchise.
During Monday’s session, the House approved a motion to include House Resolution 1499 filed by PBA Party-list Rep. Margarita Nograles in the agenda of the legislative franchises committee’s Tuesday hearing on SMNI’s alleged franchise violations.
Nograles sought the suspension of SMNI’s franchise after two of its hosts accused House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of spending P1.8 billion for his overseas trips this year. The allegation, however, was disproved by House Secretary General Reginald Velasco at the House legislative franchises committee’s hearing last week.
Citing records of the House, Velasco said the Office of the Speaker’ s travel expenses from January to October 2023 only amounted to P4.3 million.
“[I]t is clear that SMNI violated its responsibility to the public not to use its stations or facilities for the deliberate dissemination of false information or willful misrepresentation to the detriment of public interest,” she said in the resolution.
“Pending the recommendation of the Committee on Legislative Franchises on the alleged violations of SMNI, it is the duty of National Telecommunications Commission to immediately stop the deliberate dissemination of false information that may generate cynicism and mistrust on matters involving public interest,” Nograles added.
Speaker Romualdez said lawmakers will press the hosts of SMNI’s program, “Laban Kasama ng Bayan,” in Tuesday’s hearing to identify the source of the false information on his travel expenses.
Jeffrey Celiz, one of the SMNI show’s host, previously told lawmakers that one of his sources was a Senate employee but he declined to identify the person.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, for his part, has vowed to impose sanctions on the erring Senate employee who fed Celiz with wrong information once he or she has been identified.
