THE House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Franchises chaired by Parañaque City Rep. Gus Tambunting on Thursday began its inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the insinuation broadcast over SMNI that Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez allegedly spent P1.8-billion for his travels for 2023.
SMNI broadcaster Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz made the insinuation in the program “Laban Kasama ang Bayan” last Monday, allegedly relayed by an employee from Congress. Pressed by Quezon Rep. David “Jay-Jay” Suarez about his source, Mr. Celiz bared that his source is a public servant from the Senate. When pressed further by Rep. Suarez and Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, Jr. about his source, Mr. Celiz invoked Republic Act 53, or the “Sotto Law” which protects journalists from revealing their news sources.
However, SDS Gonzales said that RA 6173, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, specifically Section 4, Paragraph C, provides that public officials and employees shall remain true to the people at all times. “They shall act with justness and sincerity, and shall not discriminate against anyone, especially the poor and the underprivileged….RA 6173 is a covenant between government employees and the people that we serve. After all, it is to them that we owe our office. If you do not tell us the identity of the source, the employee is deceiving the people he is serving. Tulungan ninyo kami, tulungan natin ang bayan para malaman po ang katotohanan,” SDS Gonzales said.
Mr. Celiz explained that his source’s intent was to ask the question, adding that airing the question was “Without malice on our part (sa) Laban Kasama ang Bayan.”
“Do we take responsibility for that inadvertent failure to conduct proper vetting of the source and the information? Yes po uulitin namin yan. And if kailangan po ulitin dito sa Komite, ang paghingi po ng pag unawa tungkol sa pangyayari na yan, na nasaktan ang integridad ni Speaker Martin Romualdez, at ng institution ng Kongreso dahil sa ganitong pangyayari, I take full responsibility. In behalf of the program, anchor, in my personal capacity, and even from the station,” he apologized, stating that the episode was ”a hard learned lesson,” highlighting the need to observe ng due diligence, and propriety in verifying sources.
As much as Mr. Celiz takes responsibility over the unfair insinuation, Rep. Suarez stressed that SMNI also carries the responsibility to ensure that what is being aired as news is accurate. He also requested the Committee that transcripts of the hearing be forwarded to the Senate, for the Senate to respond, citing that, “These are not simple accusations anymore, these (affect) inter- parliamentary relations between the Senate and the House of Representatives.”
Committee Chair Tambunting agreed, and said that the inquiry does has just begun. “This is about the franchise of the network, not you (Mr. Celiz) per se. That’s why the question is, was there an infraction? If there was an infraction, what will Congress do? So doon ho tayo pupunta.”
House Secretary General Reginald Velasco shared before the panel that the expenses of the Office of the Speaker for foreign travels from January to October 2023, including the staff of the Office of the Speaker, amounted to P4.347 million only. The expenses for all the congressmen and the secretariat on official trips totaled P35.207 million only. Overall, the amount expended is only P39.605 million, he said.
Finance Department Deputy Secretary General Dante Roberto Mailing confirmed and verified SecGen Velasco’s report. “So maliwanag po sa lahat Mr. Chair, the record shows that Congress for the year 2023 has only spent P39 million, malayong malayo po dun sa alegasyon ng SMNI that Congress spent P1.8 billion,” Surigao Rep. Johnny Pimentel said.
The committee conducted the inquiry on the basis of : 1) Rep. Suarez’s Privilege Speech delivered on the floor on November 28, 2023 on fake news peddling of SMNI against Speaker Romualdez; 2) HR 230 and HR 1428, condemning the fake news peddling and baseless red-tagging of individuals, groups, and organizations by the SMNI, filed by ACT TEACHERS Rep. France Castro and Rep. Arlene Brosas, respectively.
