House panel seeks Senate comment on SMNI anchor's claims

RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News

MANILA - The House Committee on Legislative Franchises seeks the Senate&#x27;s comment on claims by an SMNI anchor that a source from the Senate fed him information claiming that the Office of Speaker Martin Romualdez spent P1.8 billion in travel. House Committee Chair Rep. Gus Tambunting directed the submission of the transcript and video of the committee proceedings wherein SMNI anchor Jeffrey &quot;Eric&quot; Celiz attributed the information to a source in the Senate he refused to name. Tambunting was acting on the request of House Deputy Majority Leader, Quezon 3rd District Rep. David Jayjay Suarez. &quot;Due to the revelations of Ka Eric I think we are treading on very dangerous waters when it comes to interparliamentary relations with the Senate.&quot; Suarez said. &quot;May I request that the transcripts of the said hearing be forwarded to the Senate for the Senate to respond because if this is true and assuming that tama yung sinasabi ni Ka Eric may naglalabas ng disinformation laban sa mababang kapulungan at ang pinaghuhugutan nito ay yung kasama natin sa Kongreso na Senado,&quot; Suarez added. &quot;I think those are very very dangerous situation to find ourselves in so I hope that we can take this seriously because these are not simple accusations anymore. These are interparliamentary relations between the Senate and the House of Representatives,&quot; Suarez explained. Earlier in the hearing, Celiz told legislators that the claim on the P1.8 billion travel fund came from 2 sources--one was an unlisted number on his cellphone and another was an old source he eventually described as a worker in the Senate. &quot;Government employee po siya nasa Senate and upon consultation po...empleyado po ito sa Senado currently,&quot; Celiz said. &quot;Not from the lower House. Congress is composed of 2 Houses, Lower House and Senate, wala po sa House of Representatives,&quot; Celiz also said. Celiz repeatedly invoked the Sotto Law--which allows journalists from naming their sources, in rejecting calls for him to name his source. Legislators had raised doubts about the provenance of his source. The House Committee is set to continue its probe on the alleged violations of the SMNI franchise next Tuesday.

Celiz repeatedly invoked the Sotto Law, which allows journalists from naming their sources. 

House panel seeks Senate comment on SMNI anchor's claims | ABS-CBN

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House panel seeks Senate comment on SMNI anchor's claims

House panel seeks Senate comment on SMNI anchor's claims

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 30, 2023 09:41 PM PHT

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House of Representatives

SMNI

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