On Tuesday, Lawmakers have held Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) anchors Jeffrey Celiz and Lorraine Badoy in contempt for their disrespectful behavior and refusal to answer relevant questions during an inquiry.
The House Committee on Legislative Franchises was investigating SMNI’s alleged dissemination of fake news when Celiz declined to reveal the source of his claims that Speaker Martin Romualdez had spent ₱1.8 billion on foreign travels for nearly a year.
Celiz had previously stated that his source was a Senate employee but later admitted that his allegation was false after it was clarified that Romualdez had a travel budget of only ₱4.3 million from January to October 2023.
During the hearing, Celiz insisted on invoking the Sotto Law, which protects journalists and news practitioners from being compelled to disclose their sources.
Deputy Majority Leader David Suarez argued that Celiz cannot rely on the Sotto Law since he had already admitted to spreading false information.
Following Celiz’s detention, Badoy was also cited in contempt for providing conflicting statements about her role in the SMNI program “Laban Kasama ng Bayan.” Initially claiming to be a blocktimer, she later admitted to being a co-producer and an employee of SMNI.
The two anchors were taken into custody until the plenary approves the committee report on the inquiry. The committee also passed a resolution urging the National Telecommunications Commission to suspend the operations of Swara Sug Media Corporation, trading as SMNI, due to alleged franchise violations.
Source: PhilNews24 | December 6, 2023
