00:32.3
Okay, okay, eto na, eto na, may mga updates na tayo guys
00:37.0
So over the past week, especially since last Friday
00:40.9
Eto, pinafollow natin itong situation sa SMNI
00:45.1
At base dun sa mga conversations natin with people who attended yung mga hearings sa SMNI
00:50.5
Talagang medyo nakita na natin yung writing on the wall
00:54.3
Very hostile yung mga hearings
00:57.9
Very hostile yung mga treatment ng mga congressmen
01:01.0
Dun sa mga representatives ng SMNI
01:03.2
Especially ito si Ka-Eric at saka si Badoy
01:05.8
O, kamusta naman dyan sa kanilang, ano, hunger strike
01:10.3
Ano pong latest dyan sa hunger strike
01:13.1
Yan, sumama na ba si Harry dun sa kanilang, ano, o
01:16.0
Eto, eto, so, since last week, more or less we saw the writing on the wall
01:19.7
At nakita nyo, more or less we called it
01:22.1
We said that it looks like the franchise of SMNI is now really in peril
01:26.1
And that it's a matter of time na baka matanggalan na sila ng franchise
01:30.8
Now, obviously, there's no way to understand SMNI
01:33.4
Unless you're also looking at the bigger picture
01:35.1
Namely, the connection between Kiboloy, Pastor Kiboloy
01:39.2
And of course, President Rudigo Duterte
01:41.6
Who happens to be one of the hosts
01:44.7
Or whatever you want to call him
01:45.9
Resident analyst ng SMNI
01:48.4
Or something like that, along those lines
01:50.1
Now, the thing is, actually, nag-escalate nyo yung situation
01:53.3
Dahil, first, it's not just about the franchise
01:56.1
It was questioning yung mga reports sa SMNI
01:59.4
Particularly with respect dun sa allegations of excessive amount
02:05.4
Or decadent amounts of travel expenditure by the House of Representatives
02:09.5
Especially the speakership of the House of Representatives
02:12.1
And then, the next thing you know, eto na talaga
02:14.3
Talagang kine-question na rin yung practices, ethical practices
02:18.4
Journalistic practices ng SMNI
02:20.6
There was already a resolution for suspension of SMNI's franchise
02:26.1
Now, officially, there's a move to review yung franchise nila for possible revocation
02:30.9
Now, mukhang it's not ending there
02:32.9
Because this seems to be even escalating further
02:36.3
So, the latest news that we have over the past 24 hours, mga kameta
02:39.8
Since we had our last live
02:42.7
May mga grupo dyan sa Kongreso
02:44.7
Who are now pushing for investigation into the pastor's situation, per se
02:51.6
Not only Lorraine Badoy
02:54.4
Not only that specific revocation
02:56.1
May report about allegations against the Speaker of the House
03:01.8
But now, you have a situation
03:03.1
Where some of the congress people
03:04.3
Are pushing all the way
03:06.1
To investigate the case of pastor
03:10.6
Kanina, opposition lawmakers express reservations
03:13.7
Regarding dun sa potential revocation
03:16.1
Of Sunshine Media Network International franchise
03:18.4
Siting concerns for free speech and press freedom
03:20.2
So, on one hand may mga tao na nagsabi na
03:22.5
May mga free speech and press freedom
03:26.1
At yun ang sinabi ko na of course we have to be very careful. Be careful what you wish for because if we try to play around yung SOTO law and mga protections ang binibigay sa mga journalists and if we want to play around with the definition of what makes it credentialed journalist or not, then we're going down a slippery slope.
03:42.2
Nevertheless, may two lines of attack dito against the alleged man behind the whole media organization. One is of course yung mga investigations from the US angle, yung mga FBI wanted, etc.
03:58.4
The other one of course is itong also concerns about China ties ng itong organization na ito. So yung ties daw, alleged ties between SMNI at China Propaganda Unit.
04:10.4
Okay, so isa sa mga tao na.
04:12.2
Front and center dito sa mga discussion about SMNI and potential ties also to China. At the same time raising concerns about making sure na hindi makakaroon ng mass hysteria, etc.
04:22.0
I see House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Representative Congresswoman France Castro na interview natin dito sa ating podcast and please check it out. Very interesting podcast.
04:32.6
Now, di ba pinag-usapan dito din natin ng krisis sa edukasyon sa Pilipinas where as far as krisis sa edukasyon is concerned, if there's one person that I want to listen to in terms of what should,
04:42.2
be done is Congresswoman Castro because she has a background in education, particularly in mathematics, teaching mathematics, basic education among others.
04:51.8
So please also check out yung mga criticism niya. It's something that we can discuss. If I'm not mistaken, yung good friend natin si Christian Esquerra already had also a vlog about education crisis in the Philippines.
05:00.6
I suggest you guys check that out, look into it. But now, balikan natin itong issue na ito because Representative France Castro right now has emerged.
05:09.2
She's like the new star.
05:12.2
She's like the new Iron Lady sa House of Representatives. In many ways, she's now the new Iron Lady sa House of Representatives in the same way that Riza Jontiveros is the Iron Lady dyan sa Senate.
05:21.1
Now, if you look at her, she has been going back and forth with Sada Duterte over the confidential fund issue.
05:27.3
She has been going back and forth with President Rodrigo Duterte over dun sa mga threats, allegedly threats from the President, former President against her.
05:34.5
And there has been already a court case on that front and a few weeks ago we discussed.
05:39.8
Ito na. Kinukorte na.
05:42.2
Sinisopina na si Digong dito sa alleged threatening remarks niya kay Congresswoman Castro.
05:50.5
In fact, it was in that light na yung mga nandun sa Kongreso ay lumaban, ay nag-criticize din kay Digong.
05:56.8
May mga PDP laban na high-level officials ay nag-resign na.
06:00.4
So, this is getting serious and this is escalating very fast.
06:03.8
But now, ito na. So, the next line of attack is not only SMNI, their journalistic practices.
06:09.7
It's not only Badoy and Kaerik and yung kanilang, you know, how they were using or allegedly abusing yung kanilang broadcasting rights and their position as broadcasters.
06:22.5
And also, not only the allegations, the basis allegations against House of Representative Leadership.
06:28.4
But now, it's going all the way to the very man behind SMNI or allegedly the man behind SMNI on two fronts.
06:37.4
Lumabas lang sa Friday.
06:42.6
So, while progressives inside the House of Representatives like Franz Castro, hindi sila generally sold dun sa revocation of the franchise.
06:52.2
Because sabi nila, we just want to set right its programs, its directions without them red-tagging or vilifying anyone with free speech and freedom of the press in place.
07:00.4
Now, my sense is the reason why, I mean one of the reasons is also because they're worried about precedents.
07:06.6
The very thing that we mentioned mga kameta last week, diba?
07:09.7
Be careful what you wish for.
07:11.4
Because kung ma-revoke yung license ng SMNI ngayon, who knows, next time, if there's another legit media or legit journalist,
07:18.3
not necessarily SMNI style, but the legit media comes out and exposes some corruption in the government or congress or whatever,
07:24.6
then, what are we going to expect?
07:27.1
Are we going to expect them to, you know, you get what I'm saying?
07:29.1
So, you have to be careful about the precedents you set and you have to be careful also about making sure na this whole SMNI accountability hearings and all,
07:37.6
hindi siya magta-turn into a kangaro court.
07:39.3
I'm not saying that's the case.
07:40.5
I'm just saying we have to make sure na yung inis ng tao at galit ng tao sa SMNI, no matter how valid it is,
07:46.6
it doesn't blind people to the importance of rule of law and importance of precedents.
07:55.9
So, sa isang banda, ang sinasabi nila is,
07:58.2
Generally, we're not sold on the revocation of the franchise.
08:00.5
We just want to set right its programs, its directions without them retagging or vilifying anyone with free speech and freedom of the press in place.
08:07.2
Now, having said that,
08:10.2
ito'y interesting na.
08:12.2
we still want to look into the partnership of SMNI with China Global Television Network, CGTN,
08:20.8
the Chinese network.
08:21.6
Ito'y state-backed Chinese network na version nila ng BBC,
08:26.3
version nila ng Al Jazeera, for instance, no?
08:30.1
And it has been building its momentum.
08:32.5
And in fact, if anything, you have former Filipino top officials like Martin Andanar, no?
08:38.0
A former broadcaster also.
08:39.3
He was with Austin TV5 back in the day.
08:40.5
Now, also working with the CGTN.
08:43.0
So, what people are saying is like,
08:45.7
SMNI and CGTN have a partnership.
08:48.1
And it's agreement with the military and the National Task Force to end local...
08:52.2
So, medyo alanganin daw eh, yung mga institutional affiliations ng itong SMNI na ito.
08:57.8
One is with the China Global Television Network.
08:59.7
The other one is with the National Task Force to end local communist armed conflict.
09:02.8
So, ang in-imply siguro niya ng Franz Castro dito is,
09:06.3
how can you expect them to be...
09:09.3
How can you expect them to be fair and reasonable
09:13.8
dun sa kanilang coverage ng issues relevant to West Philippine Sea
09:17.7
or issues relevant to counterinsurgency, peace negotiations within the government
09:22.8
and NPA or communist groups
09:25.8
if there are certain allegedly institutional linkages, no?
09:30.1
So, Castro, President Castro pressed the House legislative franchises
09:33.9
to investigate itong linkages, especially with CGTN ng China, no?
09:38.0
So, what's interesting?
09:39.2
So, what's interesting here, man, ang meta is,
09:41.0
you have a situation whereby people who are supposedly affiliated with the left in the Philippines,
09:47.1
supposedly front ng communism, supposedly, allegedly,
09:50.4
sila mus may nag-raise ng concern about institutional ties between SMNI
09:54.1
and really a communist country, right?
09:57.3
And in this case, the state-backed news network ng communist country niya,
10:00.9
which is CGTN, all right?
10:02.2
Now, of course, just to be clear, I have been interviewed by CGTN,
10:06.2
RT, Al Jazeera, among others, you know,
10:09.2
personally, I had no problem when I was interviewed by them.
10:11.3
In fact, I was, when I was in Beijing a few years ago, I also went to their building.
10:15.4
But I was interviewed on a different issue, no?
10:17.4
Among others, kasi pumunta rin ako sa North Korea, di ba?
10:20.0
Before, dumana ko sa Beijing going to North Korea.
10:22.0
So, anyway, speaking of all of that,
10:24.9
personally, I had no problem with CGTN.
10:26.4
But at the end of the day, we should have no illusions that, you know,
10:29.0
if it's a China state-sponsored, you know, organization or media,
10:33.7
do not expect them to be fair when it comes to discussing issues like West Philippine Sea
10:37.4
or issues that are relevant to Philippine-China.
10:39.2
No, it's not going to happen.
10:41.3
It's not going to happen.
10:42.3
So, what Franz Castro and others are saying, medyo kailangan titignan na mabuti yan.
10:47.3
Now, at the same time, you have other progressives who are saying,
10:50.9
we have to also look at the other potentially troubling situations.
10:54.7
So, former Gabriela Women's Representative Arlene Brosas,
10:59.6
para sa kanya, the House must also go after Kiboloy
11:02.4
and potentially look into extradition, no?
11:06.2
Doon sa mga charges ng sex trafficking, among others.
11:09.2
So, as you know, yung cases na yan, pwede natin pag-usapan.
11:11.8
So, ayon sa kanya, they're saying SMNI's ownership changed.
11:14.3
We have not yet uncovered what Kiboloy's role in SMNI is,
11:17.3
but everyone's pointing to him as the owner.
11:19.0
So, ayon kay Brosas, the government must immediately extradite
11:21.7
and he must face these appalling crimes that were ignored during the previous administration
11:25.7
because it's very close to former President Rodrigo Duterte.
11:28.3
Alright, on Thursday, paranya ka, Representative Gus Tambunting,
11:31.2
chair of the House panel, said a bill seeking to revoke SMNI's franchise was already filed,
11:36.4
pero hindi pa siya na-deliberate at the committee level pa.
11:39.2
Seeing how, you know, hostile they were to the SMNI people,
11:44.2
oof, this could go in a very, very interesting discussion direction.
11:47.2
So, anyway, we'll do a follow-up vlog on this soon, mga kameta,
11:52.8
because, you know, over the weekend, siguro makakaroon ng more clarity also
11:57.7
whether they're gonna go all the way after also Kiboloy, no?
12:02.8
Who is allegedly still the boss of SMNI, but in fairness to Kiboloy naman,
12:09.2
They have maintained that he's no longer.
12:11.2
He doesn't own media network anymore.
12:13.7
So, this was the report just the other week.
12:19.5
So, ito yung mga Suara Sog Media Corporation of the Philippines,
12:24.9
also known as Sunshine Media Network,
12:26.3
is not owned by Davao-based religious group leader, Pastor Apollo C. Kiboloy.
12:31.7
Ito ay ayon sa isang executive of the network
12:33.6
during a House Committee on Legislative Franchisees discussion, investigation,
12:37.9
on the possible violation of...
12:39.2
So, we're just being fair, no?
12:42.9
So, ayon kay Mark Tolentino, yung legal counsel and officer of the company,
12:47.3
no, SMNI is not owned by Pastor Apollo C. Kiboloy.
12:49.6
No, he's not part of the corporate officers.
12:51.4
He's just a block timer of SMNI.
12:54.6
We consider him as an honorary chairman,
12:57.0
but he's not part of the corporate offices.
12:59.9
His name is not part of the corporate papers.
13:02.6
He's not a stockholder of SMNI or Suara Sog Media Corporation.
13:06.7
So, ito po yung...
13:07.6
So, ito po yung nga, dini-deny na nila,
13:10.5
Actually, they're categorically denying that he has any ownership position in the company.
13:15.8
But, I'm sure, maging malalim itong discussion na ito.
13:19.1
There's gonna be more and more development in this.
13:25.0
We're gonna get back on this.
13:26.7
We're gonna get back to this topic as there'll be more developments
13:29.4
and we'll have more co-hosts and all.
13:32.9
with yung mga abogado natin, kaibigan,
13:37.7
marami tayong pinampag-usapan.
13:39.2
This SMNI saga escalates
13:41.3
and as, you know,
13:42.9
as the Philippine political class turns on them.
13:46.2
So, for six years,
13:47.1
napakalakas nung isang kampo
13:48.7
when Digong was the president.
13:50.3
But, things are beginning to change dramatically, mga kameta.
13:53.2
On that note, thank you very much, mga kameta.
13:55.1
Sorry, may mga klase na tayo, mga obligations and all.
13:57.7
I'll have to get back to them.
13:59.6
I'll post links and updates about this issue
14:02.6
para you can also check what's going on.
14:04.1
What I'm saying is that
14:06.5
there are big, big moves here
14:07.7
and I expect President Duterte
14:09.0
to lash back even stronger
14:10.7
if ever they go after
14:12.2
his very good friend from Davao
14:13.5
and also if, indeed,
14:15.0
in franchise ng SMNI,
14:17.1
after Digong himself has a show there
14:19.1
and he considers it,
14:21.0
he considers SMNI as his main platform
14:22.9
for getting his message out.
14:24.1
On that note, thank you very much.
14:25.2
God bless and talk to you soon.
