Sonshine Media Network International anchors Jeffrey "Ka Eric" Celiz and Lorraine Badoy, both cited in contempt by a House panel over their defiance that bypassed the House rules, may spend Christmas and New Year in detention.

Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, the vice chair of the House committee on legislative franchises, said in an interview on Wednesday that there is a "very big possibility" that Celiz and Badoy may be confined in the premises of Congress until the holidays.

"There is a very, very big possibility that they will spend Christmas and New Year in detention. However, they can make an appeal for a furlough for them to spend Christmas, holidays with their family but that has to be approved by the committee," Pimentel said.

The furlough necessitates an appeal; otherwise, the panel "cannot act on it," according to Pimentel.

Celiz and Badoy were both cited in contempt on Tuesday for allegedly disobeying the House rules and the lawmakers who were conducting an inquiry into the SMNI's dissemination of false information against public officials, including Speaker Romualdez and other entities, in violation of Republic Act 11422.

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

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

The congressional inquiry was prompted by Celiz and Badoy's statement, openly alleging that Romualdez incurred a whopping P1.8 billion in travel expenses in SMNI's "Laban Kasama Ang Bayan" aired on 27 November, citing a source in the Senate.

Secretary General Reginald Velasco debunked the allegations and said that travel expenses incurred by the House, including the Speaker, from January 2023 to October 2023 only amounted to P39.6 million.

Celiz earlier told lawmakers that his "source" in the Senate is a male, but he has been headstrong in withholding his identity, citing the Sotto Law or RA11458 that exempts publishers, editors, or reporters from disclosing their sources. He eventually admitted that the information he obtained was false.

The SMNI anchors' resistance not to answer the questions relevant to the query and their acting in a disrespectful manner or misbehaving that run counter to Sections 11 and E, respectively, of the House rules, served as the grounds for their detention.

Pimentel, however, maintained that the Sotto Law does not apply in the case of Celiz and Badoy, who were both unaccredited journalists.

"There is a Sotto Law to protect media practitioners. However, there is also colatilla in the Sotto Law. It's very clear in Section 1, only accredited journalists can invoke the Sotto Law. In this case, we have found out that Lorraine Badoy and Mr. Celiz are not accredited journalists or media practitioners with KBP (Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas)," Pimentel said.

The KBP previously testified that the SMNI anchors did not undergo a seminar on responsible broadcasting, which is a requirement for the accreditation of broadcast journalists.

In the course of two hearings, Pimentel asserted that the panel even established that the SMNI violated some provisions of RA 11422, especially Sections 4, 10, 11 and 12.

He likewise floated the potential revoking of the SMNI's franchise by Congress, which has the sole power over media franchises.

Nevertheless, Celiz and Badoy will be confined in the halls of Congress until the committee report, which has yet to be prepared, will be adopted in the plenary session, according to Pimentel.

"Actually, there is no timeline. Because next week will be on recess. Hopefully, we can have it approved by next week, but if it will not, then they will stay in detention until we resume session and that will be on the third week of January," Pimentel said.