Anchors and reporters of Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) asked the Supreme Court yesterday to stop the National Telecommunications Commission from enforcing the indefinite suspension of its operations.
In its 45-page petition, SMNI pleaded the High Court to issue a temporary restraining order to halt the indefinite suspension order issued by the NTC on Jan. 18 to Swara Sug Media Corp., the business name of SMNI.
SMNI lawyer Harry Roque said the indefinite suspension was a form of censorship without legal basis.
The petitioners argued the NTC suspension order was based on a House of Representatives resolution, which alleged that SMNI violated the terms and conditions of its franchise, particularly the provision that the network used its stations or facilities to spread false information.
The House resolution was referring to claims by Jeffrey Celiz, one of the hosts of SMNI’s “Laban Kasama ng Bayan,” that Speaker Martin Romualdez’s travel expenses reached P1.8 billion in just a year.
“The [NTC orders] are content-based restrictions on the operations of SMNI. They are directed to SMNI alone and are based on findings from a previous investigation in which SMNI’s operations and the content of its broadcasts were scrutinized,” the petitioners said.
“Regardless of any purported objective, if the effect is to shut down the broadcast operations of SMNI…, the assailed order must be scrutinized with a heavy presumption of unconstitutionality.”
SMNI also insisted the NTC has no power to revoke an existing franchise since such prerogative is lodged with the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) through a case in court to cancel a franchise.
The NTC previously issued a 30-day suspension order against Swara Sug Media Corp. on Dec. 21, 2023.
Despite this, the agency said it received reports showing that SMNI “did not strictly comply with the suspension and was still operating in certain areas” in Western Visayas, prompting the issuance of an indefinite suspension order.