The House of Representatives has officially passed House Bill (HB) No. 9710 on its third and final reading, signaling the termination of the franchise granted to Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) following findings of multiple infractions by a panel.
During the concluding session on Wednesday, HB No. 9710, sponsored by 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez, received overwhelming support with 284 affirmative votes, while four lawmakers voted against it, and four abstained.
The bill’s approval on its third reading comes one week after the House committee on legislative franchises forwarded its report to the plenary, securing a nod during the second reading.
Prior to the bill’s passage, Committee Chairperson and Parañaque 2nd District Rep. Gus Tambunting underscored several violations committed by SMNI. These included dissemination of misinformation, engagement in “blatant red-tagging” of government officials sans evidence, and failure to adhere to specific mandates outlined in its legislative franchise.
Similarly, Surigao del Sur 2nd District Rep. Johnny Pimentel cited breaches concerning Sections 4, 10, and 11 of SMNI’s franchise, which require the network to maintain balanced programming, report ownership changes to Congress, and offer a portion of its stocks to the public, respectively.
The investigation into SMNI, operating under the legal name Swara Sug Media Corporation, stemmed from inaccurate information shared on the Laban Kasama ang Bayan program. This included assertions by host Jeffrey Celiz that Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez had incurred P1.8 billion in travel expenses in 2023—a claim later debunked by House Secretary General Reginald Velasco.
Furthermore, SMNI faced criticism for propagating rumors and hate speech against the House, particularly after former President Rodrigo Duterte accused the chamber of being the most corrupt government entity. Duterte made these remarks on his SMNI program ‘Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa,’ following the House’s decision to remove confidential fund requests for 2024 from the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education.
