SMNI faces House franchise panel probe

MANILA, Philippines — Davao City-based Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) will face an investigation by the House committee on legislative franchises following corruption allegations made by its anchors against Speaker Martin Romualdez.

SMNI hosts recently claimed that Romualdez has incurred P1.8 billion in travel expenses.

“(The claims) are completely unfounded and categorically false,” House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said in a statement yesterday.

“The House is committed to transparency and accountability, and the Office of the Secretary General can confirm that such bloated amount for the Speaker’s travel expenses does not exist,” he added.

Quezon 2nd District Rep. David Suarez urged the House leadership to investigate the matter to shed more light on the issue.

“In the spirit of transparency and accountability, I humbly request this august chamber to direct the committee on legislative franchises, in the exercise of its inherent oversight function, to investigate this matter immediately and other similar measures pending with the committee, including this personal and collective privilege,” Suarez said.

Velasco noted that the allegations “are a clear example of fake news, designed to mislead the public and tarnish the reputation of the Speaker and the entire House as an institution.”

He also urged the public and the media to “exercise caution and verify facts before sharing such baseless claims.”

SMNI is owned by religious leader Apollo Quiboloy who is wanted in the US for sex trafficking of children.

Meanwhile, three more lawmakers from former president Rodrigo Duterte’s original PDP-Laban party have jumped ship to the ruling Lakas-CMD party, bringing to 89 the total number of congressmen in the party.

Romualdez, who is also Lakas-CMD president, administered the oath to Reps. Richard Kho, Olga Kho and Wilton Kho of Masbate’s first, second and third district, respectively, along with 17 town mayors and a municipal vice mayor as new party members.

“We are elated to welcome our colleagues and local officials who, we believe, share our deep commitment to help our beloved President, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. further grow our economy, create more income and job opportunities and make food products accessible and affordable,” Romualdez said.