SMNI flagged for allowing non-KBP accredited broadcasters to go on air

December 1, 2023 | 12:35pm

MANILA, Philippines — Television network Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) could face potential sanctions from the country’s independent broadcasting body for allowing unaccredited hosts not trained in responsible broadcasting to go on air.

A spokesperson of the Kapisanan ng mga Broadkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) told House lawmakers on Thursday that SMNI failed to comply with a rule requiring all broadcasters of KBP member networks to undergo training on the KBP’s code of ethics.

This was after SMNI’s legal representatives bared that their program anchors Jeffrey Celiz and Lorraine Badoy — two personalities who have repeatedly spouted disinformation against rights defenders, journalists, members of the judiciary and, most recently, House Speaker Martin Romualdez — were not KBP-accredited. 

Only the network of SMNI itself (formally the Swara Sug Media Corp.) is accredited with the KBP, lawyer Mark Tolentino told the House committee on legislative franchises.

KBP’s vice president for legal and regulatory compliance Lawyer Rudolph Jularbal said t