Duterte, Quiboloy, and Badoy: Why SMNI Is in Hot Water
On Thursday (December 21), the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered a 30-day suspension against Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) for alleged violations of its franchise.
According to a statement, the NTC said it has directed SMNI, which is operated by Swara Sun Media Corp. (SSMC) to explain in writing it should not be administratively “sanctioned for alleged violation of the condition of its authorities to comply with all the laws, rules and regulations of the land.”
The NTC cited Section 16 of the Public Service Act as the basis for the 30-day suspension of SMNI’s radio and television operations.
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The suspension comes after three hearings of the House of Representatives' Committee on Legislative Franchises, which raised concerns about SMNI’s operations. During the hearings, there were allegations that the network had committed infractions, including the dissemination of deliberately false information or willful misrepresentation, which could be detrimental to the public.
The committee also noted that SMNI had “committed infractions of the Philippine Constitution, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, Broadcast Cod, and the Revised Corporation Code.”
These allegations prompted Congress to call for the suspension of SMNI's operations through a House Resolution.
NTC has set the administrative hearing to address this issue for January 4, 2024.
What is SMNI
While SMNI is known as a broadcast news network, it has itself been in the news for practices that have been put into question in recent months. It might be helpful to look into the company and examine its origins and motivations.
SMNI, through SSMC, is the broadcast media unit of religious sect Kingdom of Jesus Christ, which is led by Apollo Quiboloy. The network traces its roots in the early 1990s through a religious radio program that aired on Davao-based radio stations DXDC and DXUM. Davao City is also the home city of the Quiboloy, the founding leader and executive pastor of the KJC.
KJC soon expanded its operations to television in 1991 through a religious ministry program that aired on TV networks IBC (Channel 13) and local ABS-CBN stations in Visayas and Mindanao.
By the year 2000, KJC launched its own cable network called the Q Channel, which was shown in major cities across Visayas and Mindanao like Davao, General Santos, Baoclo, Cebu, Iloilo and even in Baguio City through Sky Cable.
The fledgling network’s expansion continued through much of the 2000s, eventually reaching overseas across Asia Pacific and the U.S. via a satellite broadcast station, and later, through its own terrestrial TV station Sonshine TV-43 in Davao, when it began airing multiple religious programs.
In 2005, the network acquired the congressional franchise of SSMC as well as the AM radio stations from Nation Broadcasting Corp, which it renamed Sonshine Radio. It launched its dedicated news and current affairs channel SMNI News Channel on UHF in May 2016.
From there, SSMC diversified its operations beyond broadcasting to include media-related entities involved in pre and post-production services, music recording, set design, audio-visual presentations, and online media services. Today, SMNI has 13 radio stations (10 in AM, three in FM), 14 television stations, and 22 digital terrestrial television stations.
Controversies of SMNI
Although Quiboloy is closely affiliated with SMNI and was a known supporter and spiritual adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte, he claims not to have any ownership interest in the network, with lawyers for Quiboloy arguing that he is merely a blocktimer of the network.
As a network, SMNI has been criticized by media watchdogs for extreme bias, misinformation, and the practice of “red-tagging,” or accusing individuals of ties to communist or terror groups, by its hosts. For this, SMNI has had its share of controversies, especially over the last year. The network is known for its close association with former President Duterte, who himself has been hosting a program in the network called Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa. Lorraine Badoy, who was a former official of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), also hosts a program called Laban Kasama ang Bayan. Both programs were suspended by the MTRCB last December 19 after multiple reports of the shows airing of unverified news content, alleged death threats, and foul language. Duterte, in particular, was accused of making threats against Rep. France Castro.
It's worth noting that the Facebook pages of Quiboloy and Badoy have also been deactivated.
Earlier this year, SMNI’s YouTube channel was terminated following a ban on Quiboloy’s own YouTube channel. This followed the termination of Quiboloy’s own YouTube channel, which Google said the decision was in accordance with the United States’ sanction against the pastor, who is wanted in the United States by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and has been indicted for a variety of charges, including conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; conspiracy; and bulk cash smuggling.
In November 2023, the House launched its aforementioned probe following claims in the program Laban Kasama ang Bayan against Speaker Martin Romualdez related to his travel expenses. After the NTC’s suspension order, the network is facing numerous other issues, including the possible revocation of its Congressional franchise.
