SMNI anchors run to SC

Lawyer Harry Roque yesterday filed before the Supreme Court a petition for habeas corpus in behalf of the two SMNI television anchors being held in detention at the House of Representatives which had cited them in contempt.

Roque sought the release of Lorraine Marie Badoy and Jeffrey Celiz after they were ordered detained by the House Committee on Legislative Franchise last week.

Celiz was the first to be cited for refusing to name his source in the Senate who allegedly provided him with the information that House Speaker Martin Romualdez had spent P1.8 billion on his foreign trips.

Hours later, lawmakers zeroed in on Badoy, citing her in contempt for allegedly lying to them on the question of whether she was an employee or a block timer at SMNI.

Celiz refused to reveal his source, claiming he was covered by the Sotto Law which guarantees the right of journalists to shield their sources. The Sotto Law is also known as the Shield Law.

However, the lawmakers claimed Badoy and Celiz were not covered by the Sotto Law since they were not members of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas.

Panel chair Rep. Gus Tambunting told reporters on Monday that Celiz had backed down and divulged the identity of his "source" but only to him.

But Tambunting said Celiz's revelation did not automatically allow him to go free. "That is not automatic. We will have to study the options now," the lawmaker said.

SMNI, or Sonshine Media Network International, is owned by religious leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, whom the Senate wants investigated over sex trafficking charges in the United States. (See related story)

Badoy, a former spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict or NTF-ELCAC, and Celiz are co-anchors on the SMNI television program "Laban Kasama Ang Bayan."

They were serving as resource persons in a House committee hearing on possible franchise violations by SMNI.

The lawmakers claimed the two peddled fake news and disinformation on their program, putting SMNI in danger of losing its franchise.

House Resolution 1499, which urged the National Telecommunication Commission to suspend SMNI's operations, was adopted by the panel and later on by the House during plenary session yesterday.

SMNI is using a 25-year franchise enacted in August 2019 as Republic Act 1142.

"This is not an attack on the freedom of the press. Rather, we are defending the right of the people to have accurate and true reporting so they can formulate honest opinions and, thus, contribute positively to society," Rep. Margarita Nograles said.

Celiz and Badoy have reportedly gone on a hunger strike to bring attention to their persecution by the lawmakers, including some they had criticized on their show.

Named respondents in the habeas corpus petition were members of the House panel led by Tambunting as chairperson, and Napoleon C. Taas, sergeant-at-arms of the House of Representatives.

Badoy and Celiz told the SC that the House panel "committed grave abuse of discretion in exercising their contempt power" and ordering their detention, which "constitutes an unlawful punishment" for their exercise of free speech and freedom of the press.

Celiz claimed that in their 27 November episode he merely asked whether or not the information provided by his Senate source was true.

"The comments made by the petitioners on their TV program are privileged. The detention of the petitioners is a violation of their right to freedom of expression and the press. The petitioners cannot be compelled to reveal their source, in accordance with the Shield Law," the petition read.

Further, they claimed the panel violated the House's own rules in conducting public hearings.