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THE House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Franchises chaired by Para\u00f1aque City Rep. Gus Tambunting on Thursday began its inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the insinuation broadcast over SMNI that Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez allegedly spent P1.8-billion for his travels for 2023. SMNI broadcaster Jeffrey \u201cKa Eric\u201d Celiz made the insinuation in the program \u201cLaban Kasama ang Bayan\u201d last Monday, allegedly relayed by an employee from Congress.<\/p>\n
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Pressed by Quezon Rep. David \u201cJay-Jay\u201d Suarez about his source, Celiz bared that his source is a public servant from the Senate. When pressed further by Suarez and Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio \u201cDong\u201d Gonzales, Jr. about his source, Celiz invoked Republic Act 53 or the \u201cSotto Law\u201d which protects journalists from revealing their news sources.<\/p>\n
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However, Gonzales said that 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.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThey shall act with justness and sincerity, and shall not discriminate against anyone, especially the poor and the underprivileged\u2026.RA 6173 is a covenant between government employees and the people that we serve. After all, it is to them that we owe our office. 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,\u201d Gonzales said.<\/p>\n
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Celiz explained that his source\u2019s intent was to ask the question, adding that airing the question was \u201cWithout malice on our part (sa) Laban Kasama ang Bayan.\u201d \u201cDo we take responsibility for that inadvertent failure to conduct proper vetting of the source and the information? Yes po, uulitin namin \u2018yan. 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,\u201d he apologized, stating that the episode was \u201da hard learned lesson,\u201d highlighting the need to observe due diligence, and propriety in verifying sources. As much as Celiz takes responsibility over the unfair insinuation, Suarez stressed that SMNI also carries the responsibility to ensure that what is being aired as news is accurate. He also requested the Committee that transcripts of the hearing be forwarded to the Senate, for the Senate to respond, citing that: \u201cThese are not simple accusations anymore, these (affect) inter- parliamentary relations between the Senate and the House of Representatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Committee chair Tambunting agreed and said that the inquiry does has just begun. \u201cThis is about the franchise of the network, not you (Mr. Celiz) per se. That\u2019s why the question is, was there an infraction? If there was an infraction, what will Congress do? So doon ho tayo pupunta.\u201d<\/p>\n
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House Secretary General Reginald Velasco 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.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
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Finance Department Deputy Secretary General Dante Roberto Mailing confirmed and verified SecGen Velasco\u2019s report. \u201cSo maliwanag po sa lahat Mr. Chair, the record shows that Congress for the year 2023 has only spent P39 million, malayung-malayo po dun sa alegasyon ng SMNI that Congress spent P1.8 billion,\u201d Surigao Rep. Johnny Pimentel said.<\/p>\n
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The Committee conducted the inquiry on the basis of Rep. Suarez\u2019s Privilege Speech delivered on the floor on November 28, 2023 on fake news peddling of SMNI against Speaker Romualdez; and HR 230 and HR 1428, condemning the fake news peddling and baseless red-tagging of individuals, groups, and organizations by the SMNI filed by ACT TEACHERS Rep. France Castro and Rep. Arlene Brosas, respectively.<\/p>\n
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