Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte on Thursday cited Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) hosts Lorraine Badoy and Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz as a reflection of a country that upholds integrity.
This was after Badoy and Celiz were released by the House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Franchises from detention on humanitarian grounds.
“Kahanga-hanga ang tapang at tatag na ipinamalas nina Dr. Badoy at Ka Eric para ipaglaban ang ating karapatan at itaguyod ang ating Saligang Batas (The courage to fight for our rights and uphold our Constitution that Dr. Badoy and Ka Eric have shown is commendable),” Duterte said in a statement.
She also recalled how Badoy and Celiz took the initiative to fight terrorism and insurgency since the time of his father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.
“Una nang nagpakita ng katapangan at katapatan sa bayan sina Dr. Badoy at Ka Eric bilang bahagi ng matagumpay na kampanya ng Duterte administration laban sa terorismo ng insurhensiya sa ilalim ng National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (Dr. Badoy and Ka Eric have shown their bravery and loyalty to the country as part of the successful campaign of the Duterte administration against terrorism and insurgency under the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict),” she said.
Duterte also thanked the supporters, as well as the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Alumni, former members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, media, social media practitioners, professionals, Indigenous Peoples’ leaders, and other sectors who called for the release of the SMNI hosts.
“May kapangyarihan ang bayang nagkakaisa para sa pagsulong ng ating karapatan, para sa katarungan, katotohanan, at sa pagtatatag ng mapayapa at matibay na bayan (The power is vested in a country that unites to uphold our rights, justice, truth, and maintaining peace and resilience of the land),” she said.
Several members of the PMA alumni demanded the immediate release of the SMNI hosts, saying “their detention is not only illegitimate but also emblematic of a distressing trend of authoritarian overreach.”
According to Duterte, Badoy and Celiz were only detained by lawmakers for standing firm for their right to press freedom.
The House panel ordered Celiz’s detention after refusing to disclose the identity of his source on Speaker Martin Romualdez’s supposed PHP1.8 billion travel expenses, which was aired in the SMNI show “Laban Kasama Ang Bayan.”
Badoy, a former official of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, was cited in contempt for “acting in a disrespectful manner” and her “conflicting statements” during the inquiry. (PNA)
Photo credit: House of Representatives Official Website