Do our lawmakers know the laws?
“Faced with a phalanx of protesters led by the AFP officers that was growing in numbers by the day, the HoR released the detainees.
Daily Tribune“Faced with a phalanx of protesters led by the AFP officers that was growing in numbers by the day, the HoR released the detainees.
The grueling saga of Dr. Lorraine Badoy and Jeffrey "Ka Eric" Celiz abruptly ended. The duo had been cited in contempt for asking a question about the much-ballyhooed P1.8-billion travel budget of House Speaker Martin Romualdez and refusing to reveal the source of their information.
The House leadership and the Speaker himself could have just responded to what was a bland query.
Strangely, the lawmakers trivialized the issue raised by Lorraine and Ka Eric and locked them up by the sheer exercise of their legislative power.
The detention of the two digital show hosts sent shock waves through the media establishment and its practitioners as the brazen order was carried out without due process.
This did not sit well with the retired and active officers and men of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, who came out with a strongly worded manifesto condemning the detention of Lorraine and Ka Eric.
Their fate, moreover, appeared to be part of a bigger scenario.
Partylist Representative Margarita Nograles filed a resolution to suspend the franchise of SMNI TV, where the two have their program and where former President Rodrigo Duterte regularly appears in a segment hosted by Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy, the network's owner.
Not contented with Nograles' threat of suspension, another party-list representative, Ramon Gutierrez, filed a bill seeking the revocation of the legislative franchise granted to Sonshine Media Network International for what he said were various violations and unethical practices, particularly the dissemination of fake news and red-tagging.
I really do not know where Gutierrez derived his allegations. SMNI is quite stringent regarding factual reporting, although admittedly, it is a strong ally of the AFP in its campaign against the Red Army. This is borne out by Lorraine and Ka Eric having a primetime program over SMNI.
The duo had figured prominently in the successful campaign of the AFP and the National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict, or NTF-ELCAC, which resulted in the collapse of the CPP-NPA armed combatants and the surrender of their heavy firearms.
It stands to reason that the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives would lead in the crucifixion of Lorraine and Ka Eric.
From his political retirement, former President Duterte broke his silence over the harsh treatment of Lorraine and Ka Eric by the HoR.
He stressed that the freedom to express one's opinion, especially of the press, is enshrined in the Constitution and enabling laws.
He, too, was dismayed to learn that Davao-based Representative Nograles, who once worked at SMNI and Jose Maria College, both owned by Pastor Apollo, was behind the plot to suspend the operations of SMNI.
Faced with a phalanx of protesters led by the AFP officers that was growing in numbers by the day, the HoR released the detainees Lorraine and Eric, who had also been on a hunger strike.
While the House leadership claimed that it was for humanitarian reasons and in the spirit of Christmas that they were freed, it was believed the restiveness in the AFP and the public prompted their release.
However, their release does not bring closure to the case. A writ of habeas corpus had been filed in the Supreme Court. The verdict of the Court will reveal to the public whether the lawmakers know the laws and are knowledgeable about the Constitution.