ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Quiboloy not excused from attending House hearing, says Suarez

Quiboloy not excused from attending House hearing, says Suarez

Published Mar 11, 2024 06:24 am

At A Glance

  • Self-proclaimed "Appointed Son of God" Pastor Apollo Quiboloy should not be exempted from appearing in the Tuesday hearing on the legislative franchise of Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), says House Deputy Speaker Rep. David "Jay-Jay" Suarez.

LA paralegal admits role in fraudulent schemes for Quiboloy church membersPastor Apollo Quiboloy (KOJC)

Self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God” Pastor Apollo Quiboloy should not be exempted from appearing in the Tuesday hearing on the legislative franchise of Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), says House Deputy Speaker Rep. David "Jay-Jay" Suarez.

“I don’t think the pastor has anything to fear, I mean…we have done this in the past, many times resource persons have been invited, many times resource persons have presented [themselves],” Suarez said in a press conference on Monday, March 11.

“So, I don’t think Pastor Quiboloy should be an excuse from the many people that have presented themselves and became resource persons for any issue that the House has taken,” he added.

On Friday, lawyers of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) church leader sent a letter to House Committee on Legislative Franchises Chairman Parañaque City 2nd district Rep. Gus Tambunting to notify him that Quiboloy was in no position to provide details on SMNI's franchise.

In the letter, Quiboloy is said to be only an “honorary chairman” of SMNI and has not been involved in the network’s management and operations since 2018.

The legislative franchises panel issued a subpoena to the Davao-based pastor last month in connection with the inquiry into the alleged violations of Swara Sug Media Corporation, SMNI’s official name.

Suarez, who represents the second district of Quezon, said Quiboloy has to respect the legislative process of Congress in connection with the latter’s summoning.

“He was invited and he was asked to present himself so that he can clarify issues regarding the investigations being conducted by the Committee on [Legislative] Franchises,” he noted.

The ranking solon stressed that Quiboloy’s appearance is requisite given that he holds vital information the House panel should be aware of.

“Naniniwala po kami, mayro’n po siyang alam at may kinalaman po siya para mas lalong mapag-aralan ng committee yung nabanggit na mga violations ng SMNI at ng Swara Sug don sa franchise na kanilang pinaghahawakan,” he said.

(We believe, he knows something and has something to do with it so that the committee can better study the aforementioned violations of SMNI and Swara Sug in the franchise they are holding.)

SMNI’s alleged violations include dissemination of deliberately false misinformation, transfer of controlling interest without prior approves of Congress, and the failure to report to Congress within 60 days after the transfer.

The controversial network also allegedly violated certain provisions in the 1987 Constitution, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) Broadcast Code, and House of Representatives’ rules.

The committee resumes its hearing on Tuesday, March 12.

Related Tags

Apollo Quiboloy Committee on Legislative Franchises SMNI David Suarez
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.