THE Sonshine Media Network Inc. (SMNI) will appeal its suspension before the Office of the President, after the motion for reconsideration it filed before the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) was denied, one of the SMNI lawyers said.
Speaking to The Manila Times Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd in the program "Business and Politics" that was shown on the network's website and online platforms on Saturday, Mark Tolentino said the network's legal team wants to know the stand of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. since the MTRCB is under the Office of the President.
Last December, the board provisionally suspended two SMNI shows — "Laban Kasama ang Bayan" and "Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa," which is hosted by former president Rodrigo Duterte — before the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) suspended the channel from airing for 30 days, citing violations of its congressional franchise.
Tolentino said the SMNI counsel asked the MTRCB to inhibit from the case before they filed a motion for reconsideration, claiming that the board was acting as judge, complainant and executor in the network's case.
Tolentino, who also hosts the program "Pinoy Legal Minds" on SMNI, said the network is appealing the NTC's suspension of the channel from airing on television, arguing that it was denied due process.
"We filed a motion for reconsideration with the case of the NTC because they indefinitely suspended the operations of SMNI," he said. "We argued in our motion for reconsideration that there was a denial of due process." Tolentino said they also filed a Bill of Particular before the NTC since it is not clear what the alleged violations are.
The NTC "should give us an opportunity to explain why we should not be suspended. There should be due process of law, especially that there is a jurisprudence that any order that affects the freedom of the press is presumed unconstitutional," he said.
He said the legal team petitioned for a certiorari before the Court of Appeals (CA), which denied the petition on grounds that the SMNI should first file a motion for reconsideration before the NTC.
Tolentino said if the Office of the President agrees with the legal team, the network is still off-air, but mainly because of the NTC decision, not the MTRCB ruling. He said the NTC's decision can be appealed before the CA.
He said there is no final decision on the SMNI case, since the suspension is only indefinite and temporary, which can be revoked anytime by a temporary restraining order from the appellate court.
"It's not yet final and executory. We have all the legal remedies available," he said.
The SMNI legal team includes former Palace spokesmen Salvador Panelo and Harry Roque Jr., as well as former Iloilo 5th District representative Rolex Suplico.
SMNI has been off the air since December.
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