House OKs bill revoking franchise of SMNI on final reading
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives (HoR) has given its final approval to a bill that seeks to revoke the franchise granted to Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), owned by one of Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted Apollo Quiboloy.
In a session on Wednesday, the HoR approved on third and final reading House Bill 9710, which seeks to revoke SMNI’s franchise for reasons including alleged dissemination of false information and transfer of ownership without congressional approval.
The bill, filed by Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez (1-Rider Partylist), registered 284 yes votes, four no votes and four abstain.
This decision comes after a panel determined that SMNI had violated several rules. The House Bill accused the Quiboloy-owned network of intentionally disseminating false information, transferring shares without congressional approval, and failing to make at least 30% of its outstanding stock available.
The investigation into the broadcast network stemmed after SMNI hosts Jeffrey Celiz and Lorraine Badoy alleged that House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez spent P1.8 billion on trips in 2023 in the show "Laban Kasama ng Bayan."
SMNI also received flak after it allowed former President Rodrigo Duterte to make death threats against Rep. France Castro (ACT-Teachers) over Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential and intelligence funds in a show co-hosted by Quiboloy.
The two incidents also prompted the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board to suspend the two shows of the network.
Aside from the franchise revocation, Quiboloy is facing arrest after a warrant of arrest was issued by the Senate on March 19 after his non-appearance in the Senate investigation into the alleged abuses by the members of his “church” the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
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