Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) on Thursday asked the Court of Appeals to stop the implementation of the 30-day suspension order imposed by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for possible franchise violations.
“The suspension order is immediately executory, that is why we are asking the Court of Appeals to issue a temporary restraining order to stop the implementation of the show cause order and also the suspension order,” said SMNI lawyer and former lawmaker Rolex Suplico.
Suplico said the NTC suspension order violated several Constitutional provisions, particularly on the right to due process, separation of powers, and freedom of speech.
“We are given 15 days to file our response but the problem is that while we were given time to respond, there already is a suspension order. So, in this case, this is a grave violation of the Constitution. They abused their authority,” he said.
Aside from issuing the suspension order, the NTC also directed SMNI officers to explain why they should not be administratively sanctioned.
The regulator cited the House of Representatives’ declaration in Resolution No. 189 that SMNI violated at least three specific provisions of its legislative franchise.
This came on the heels of a 14-day suspension order slapped on two SMNI shows, including one hosted by former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The National Union of Journalists, however, said that while it was concerned with the NTC suspension order being “reminiscent of the previous [Duterte] administration’s attempts to weaponize the law and muzzle media,” the red-tagging that SMNI allows on its programs “does harm.”
“Vilification of journalists and of members of civil society that SMNI allows on its shows can and has translated to harassment, surveillance, and targeting of the red-tagged. SMNI, its consultants, and its
talents should be held accountable for peddling disinformation and hate speech,” the NUJP said.
“Even as SMNI and its supporters cry press freedom and freedom of expression now, may they also reflect on how they cheered on and abetted similar moves when these tactics were being used against journalists and newsrooms,” it added.
Suplico, however, said the NTC depended too much on the House resolution without doing its own investigation.
“NTC took hook, line, and sinker the House of Representatives’ determination. NTC is under the Executive branch of our government. But it is independent of the Executive and Congress insofar as its
quasi-judicial powers or its regulatory authority is concerned,” he said.
Earlier, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) halted the “Gikan Sa Masa, Para Sa Masa” program on SMNI after Duterte was accused of threatening ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro in the show’s October and November episodes.
Meanwhile, the suspension of the show “Laban Kasama ang Bayan” came after anchors Jeffrey Celiz and Lorraine Badoy-Partosa falsely claimed Speaker Martin Romualdez spent P1.8 billion in travel expenses in a year.