A broadcaster for Sonshine Media Network Inc. (SMNI) apologized Thursday over an insinuation on air 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 a Senate employee.

Asked to name his source, Celiz invoked Republic Act 53, or the “Sotto Law” which protects journalists from revealing their news sources.

He noted 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 said.

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He added that the episode was ”a hard learned lesson,” highlighting the need to observe ng due diligence and propriety in verifying sources.

For his part, Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, Jr. said 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.

"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,” he said.

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House Secretary General Reginald Velasco, meanwhile, 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.

Quezon Rep. David “Jay-Jay” Suarez said SMNI also carries the responsibility to ensure that what is being aired as news is accurate. He 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.”

Parañaque City Rep. Gus Tambunting, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Franchises, told Celiz: “This is about the franchise of the network, not you 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.”

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