SMNI back on air

SONSHINE Media Network International (SMNI) was back on air Saturday after a 30-day suspension ordered by the National Telecommunications (NTC) Commission has lapsed, its lawyer said.

“SMNI is on the air again. The 30-day suspension period expired yesterday (January 20). The order was received last December 21, 2023,” the network’s legal counsel Rolex Suplico told The Manila Times in a text message.

The NTC issued the suspension order after the House of Representatives released House Resolution 89, enumerating the network’s violations of the terms and conditions of its franchise granted under Republic Act 11422.

Among the violations cited include alleged disinformation, specifically the claims of network commentators that House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez had spent more than P1.8 billion on international travel.

Romualdez has belied the allegation.

The NTC issued a show-cause order, including the suspension order, on December 19 and was implemented on December 20.

However, Suplico said that their motion to inhibit NTC Commissioner Ella Blanca Lopez and Deputy Commissioners Jon Paulo Salvahan and Alvin Bernard Blanco from taking action on their administrative case filed against Swara Sug Media Corp., the owner of SMNI, was denied by the commission for lack of merit.

In its order dated January 17 and received by SMNI on January 19, the NTC is authorized to act “motu proprio” (on its own) and ensure that its regulated entities comply with the terms and conditions of the authorities it has granted.

It added that the NTC is mandated to actively oversee and exercise its authority over possible violations of relevant laws, rules, regulations and issuance.

“It cannot turn a blind eye on reports or allegations of violations of its issuances. Put simply, the Commission, in the exercise of its regulatory authority, is not expected to be a passive body which is shackled from taking any action until a formal complaint is filed,” it added.

On SMNI’s claim that its commissioners are already tainted with bias and prejudice, the NTC said their inhibition would be tantamount to restricting their active authority as a duly constituted regulator.

It said that the administrative case against SMNI was not due to the NTC’s unilateral act but was prompted by official reports that the network had violated provisions of its legislative franchise.

Suplico said that they will file a motion for reconsideration to the NTC regarding the denial of their motion to inhibit.