Cited in contempt, SMNI anchor Celiz could spend holidays in House detention 

Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz (Facebook)

SMNI program anchor Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz could be spending both Christmas and New Year in detention at the House of Representatives.

This, after Celiz was cited in contempt by the House Committee on Legislative Franchises on Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 5 during the continuation of the panel’s probe on Celiz’s fake news report that Speaker Martin Romualdez spent P1.8 billion on his travels.

The citation was triggered by the broadcaster’s sheer refusal to divulge to the panel the name of his source for his erroneous report on his program, “Laban Kasama Ang Bayan” on SMNI.

“Four times, he refused to reply [who was the source]. The honorable [Navotas City lone district Rep. Toby] Tiangco even afforded him an executive session and again he refused. So obviously, he will refuse to answer any question,” committee chairman Parañaque City 2nd district Rep. Gus Tambunting said of Celiz, who was escorted to his detention room mid-hearing.

Panel Vice Chairman Surigao del Sur 2nd district Rep. Johnny Pimentel was the one who moved to cite Celiz in contempt. Nobody objected to his motion, which was adopted.

“I move to detain Mr. Celiz, for he was cited in contempt, until the adoption of the committee report at the plenary session,” Pimentel said. This was also promptly adopted.

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The issuance of a committee report comes after the end of an inquiry; Tambunting said there will at least be one more hearing on the controversies involving the network.

The House will be on holiday break from Dec. 16, 2023 to January 21, 2024. This means that Celiz could still be under detention during those dates, since there won’t be any sessions.

However, he can file a motion for reconsideration.

Celiz, a former member of the New People’s Army (NPA), said during the Nov. 30 hearing of the committee that his source was a male employee at the Senate.