Quezon 2nd District Rep. David Suarez (Photo from his Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines — House lawmakers are confused why some senators have called on congressional panels to just file cases against Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) founder and leader Apollo Quiboloy, saying that they just want the televangelist to answer questions regarding the media company attached to him.
Deputy Speaker David Suarez on Monday stressed that the prerogative of the House and the Senate to conduct investigations must be respected, as the answers from invited resource persons may be critical to lawmaking.
Suarez was the one who called on the House committee on legislative franchises to investigate Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) after Laban Kasama ang Bayan host Jeffrey Celiz aired wrong information about Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez’ travel expenses.
“I think we need to respect the legislative processes of both the Senate and the House. It is the prerogative of the committee to determine and to invite resource persons so that proper legislation can be enacted,” Suarez said in a press briefing at the House complex.
“So pagdating naman po do’n sa sinasabi ni Senator (Robinhood) Padilla, ni Senator (Francis) Tolentino, hindi naman po dapat umuwi sa kasuhan kung wala namang krimen at kasalanan, ‘di ba? Ang hinahanap lang po ng komite, pumunta po siya dito para sagutin po ‘yong katanungan ng mga miyembro ng komite ng franchise, wala naman po tayong pinag-uusapan na kaso,” he added.
(So regarding what Senator Padilla and Senator Tolentino said, I don’t think we should resort to filing cases if there are no crimes and accountable actions, right? What we are looking for in the committee is his attendance, to answer the questions asked by members of the panel, we are not talking about cases.)
SMNI has been linked to Quiboloy, although company officials have denied accusations that the pastor is involved in the network’s operations.
The House panel last February 19 issued a subpoena against Quiboloy to clear the ownership issue, as he has continuously evaded the hearings.
READ: House summons Quiboloy to panel hearing on SMNI franchise
According to Suarez, the committee on legislative franchises which is discussing issues regarding possible violations of SMNI’s franchise has not mentioned the filing of criminal complaints against Quiboloy.
“So bakit natin kailangang dalhin sa korte? Ang issue lang po dito ay pumunta po siya dito dahil inimbitahan po siya, sinubpoena po siya para maipaliwanag niya po ‘yong problema no’ng Swara Sug at no’ng SMNI sa mababang kapulungan,” he noted, referring to SMNI’s business name — Swara Sug Media Corporation.
(So why do we need to bring this to court? The issue here is he needs to attend hearings because he was invited, he was issued a subpoena so that he can explain the problems with Swara Sug and SMNI before the House.)
Over the weekend, Senators Padilla and Tolentino defended Quiboloy from the hearings being conducted by the House and the Senate. According to Tolentino, the panels should not treat Quiboloy as guilty because such a decision rests upon the court.
Padilla on the other hand urged lawmakers to just file cases before the court, saying that it will be a big mess if both the House and the Senate insist on their subpoena.
READ: Tolentino on Quiboloy: ‘Don’t insult, disrespect or even treat him as guilty’
But Isabela 6th District Rep. Inno Dy said that it is important for Quiboloy to attend the hearings as the resource persons cannot provide a complete picture regarding SMNI’s ownership.
“It is very important for Pastor Quiboloy to attend the hearings because bulk of the matters, it’s only him who could answer as former head of SMNI, he can answer the questions because we are trying to clear some issues, we want to understand this but our resource persons have little knowledge about our questions,” Dy said.
“For us, we just want clarity, and if they are not hiding something, if they are not doing anything wrong, then there’s no reason not to show up here in Congress, you were invited, so for us, it is our prerogative and mandate to invite people,” he added.
READ: Surigao lawmaker wants SMNI franchise revoked amid violations
Hearings on Celiz’ wrong claims about Romualdez’ travel expenses eventually revealed possible franchise violations. According to Surigao del Sur 2nd District Rep. Johnny Pimentel, they are looking at three possible violations of SMNI’s franchise:
Section 4, which mandates SMNI or Swara Sug Media Corporation to “provide at all times sound and balanced programming”
Section 10, which mandates SMNI to inform Congress about the sale of the company to other owners or other major changes
Section 11, which mandates the SMNI to offer at least 30 percent of its stock to the public