SMNI franchise revocation hurdles House committee

A measure seeking to revoke the legislative franchise of Swara Sug Media Corporation, which operates Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), was approved by the House Committee on Legislative Franchises on Tuesday.

In a congressional hearing, Committee vice-chairperson and Surigao del Norte Representative Johnny Pimentel moved to approve House Bill 9710, which seeks to revoke Swara Sug's 25-year franchise.

This was seconded and approved by the committee, as Pimentel said the panel had established that Swara Sug violated its franchise in the six hearings conducted on the matter.

“Anim na hong hearing ang ginawa natin dito. We have already heard all sides pertaining to the subject matter, we have discussed thoroughly all the pertinent divisions of Republic Act 11422, we’ve exhausted already all arguments that needed to be discussed,” he said.

RA 11422 renews Swara Sug's franchise to construct, install, operate, and maintain for commercial purposes radio and television stations in the Philippines.

Referring to the company's alleged violations, the committee cited Section 4 of the law, which provides that the franchise grantee is held responsible to not use its station or facilities for the dissemination of false information or willful misrepresentation to the detriment of the public interest.

A House bill seeking the franchise revocation said SMNI has been engaged in red-tagging and fake news peddling, including labeling members of the House, former vice president Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo, and private individuals as members of the New People’s Army.

The panel also noted an alleged violation of Section 10, which covers the ownership of the franchise, as it said the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) diluted its ownership of Swara Sug to 46% in 2022 from 95% in 2020.

Pimentel said the Congress should have been asked for permission for this, and should have been made aware of such a move.

GMA News Online has reached out to SMNI president Marlon Rosete for comment on the matter, but no response has been received as of this posting.

In the same hearing, Pimentel moved to hold KOJC founder Apollo Quiboloy in contempt for his failure to attend the hearing, which was also approved by the Committee.

For his part, Quiboloy’s legal counsel Ferdinand Topacio said they have already provided legal justification for his non-attendance as he was not the best person to respond to queries on the matter, and directed the questions to three other KOJC officials. — BM, GMA Integrated News