The House of Representatives passed on the third and final reading of the bill revoking the franchise of Swara Sug Media Corporation or the Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI).
The network is owned by religious leader and rabid Duterte supporter Apollo Quiboloy.
284 congressmen voted in favor of House Bill No. 9710, repealing Republic Act No. 11422, or the SMNI franchise.
Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Duterte Youth party-list Rep. Drixie Mae Cardema, and Kabayan party-list Rep. Ron Salo voted against the revocation of the SMNI franchise.
House committee on legislative franchises chair and Parañaque City Rep. Gustavo Tambunting stood firm that SMNI committed franchise violations.
Tambunting said that SMNI was found guilty of “blatant red-tagging, fake news peddling, and violations of broadcasting standards”.
Makabayan lawmakers including Gabriela Representative Arlene Brosas and ACT Partylist Representative France Castro said SMNI should not be considered as a media entity.
“While freedom of the press is a fundamental right that should be protected, it does not extend to the spread of misinformation and lies. SMNI does not have the right to claim that the revocation of their franchise is an issue of press freedom when they are spreading misinformation,” Brosas said in explaining her vote.
“SMNI is not a part of media and should not be compared to real media,” Castro added.
