Sonshine Media Network International anchor Jeffrey "Ka Eric" Celiz, who spouted "fake news" against Speaker Martin Romualdez, has been detained in the halls of Congress over his refusal to divulge the identity of his purported source, which prompted him to make insinuations against the House chief.

The House committee on legislative franchises detained Celiz, irked by his resistance to name his source in the Senate, whom he claimed fed him that Romualdez incurred a whopping P1.8 billion in travel expenses, during the resumption of its probe on Tuesday.

The panel, chaired by Paranaque Rep. Gus Tambunting, carried the motion of Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel to cite Celiz in contempt for refusing to reveal, for the nth time, the source of his "fake news."

"I move to detain Mr. Celiz for he was cited in contempt until the adoption of the committee report at the Plenary session, I so move," Pimentel, the panel's vice chair, said.

While Celiz disclosed to lawmakers last week that his "source" in the Senate is a male, he has been headstrong in withholding his identity, citing the Sotto Law or Republic Act 11458 that exempts publishers, editors, or reporters from disclosing their sources.

However, members of the panel stressed that the Sotto Law does not apply in the case of Celiz, who eventually admitted that his information was false.

The panel is conducting its probe into SMNI's possible violations of its franchise from airing false information against public officials, including Romualdez and other entities, which runs counter to RA 11422.

RA 1142 grants SMNI, legally operating as Swara Sug Media Corporation of the Philippines, a 25-year franchise renewal. It was enacted in August 2019.

Section 4 of the law mandates that the grantee shall not allow its stations or facilities "for the broadcasting of obscene or indecent language, speech, act, or scene; or for the dissemination of deliberately false information or willful misrepresentation, to the detriment of the public interest" which lawmakers asserted was breached by the network.

Celiz and his co-host, former anti-communist task force spokesperson Lorraine Marie Badoy, during SMNI's "Laban Kasama Ang Bayan," on 27 November alleged that Romualdez's travel expenses ballooned to P1.8 billion, citing his source from the Senate.

Secretary General Reginald Velasco promptly debunked the allegations. He claimed that travel expenses incurred by Romualdez, all other lawmakers, and officials in the House secretariat from January 2023 to October 2023 only amounted to P39.6 million.

During last week's hearing, Celiz and Badoy apologized to the House and Romualdez, expressing remorse for any harm caused by their false statements.

Nevertheless, they affirmed that they are not complicit in any slander campaign against Congress.

But, Pimentel posits that SMNI is being used as a tool to spread false information.

"Because of the false informations that you [SMNI] are disseminating, you are faced with several cases proving na marami kayong hinarass, marami kayong minalign, marami kayong sinara na mga reputasyon using false information," Pimentel said.

The probe revealed that SMNI faces 9 cases related to red-tagging and false information.

SMNI, which mandates the dissemination of crucial information to the public, is instead being used to malign and destroy a person and an entity, which is a clear violation of Section 4 of RA 11422, according to Pimentel.