Flight, as in most instances, is generally and logically a sign of guilt.
Thus said an administration ally in the House of Representatives, noting that there is no urgent need for Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) host Jeffrey Celiz to seek sanctuary in the US and apply for asylum in nearby Canada if he is innocent of the charges filed against him.
“He should be man enough to face his charges here. Nobody is persecuting him. I just want to remind him that he should not be too conscious of his rights as a person and as a journalist,” said House Ad Hoc Committee on Marawi Rehabilitation and Victims Compensation chairman Zia Alonto Adiong of Lanao del Sur, speaking about the broadcast journalist identified with the Duterte camp.
“More than that, he should also be aware of the accompanying responsibilities of being a media practitioner. And I think I have the right to say this: We have so many responsible journalists here fighting it out with their perceived and alleged tormentors. Why can’t he?” Adiong, a House Majority Leader, asked.
“What makes him so special? Is it because he has more resources than his other media colleagues here? One can only think of perhaps the vast resources he has for him to be able to live in upscale New York,” Adiong noted.
Celiz, along with fellow anchor Lorraine Badoy and Israelito Torreon, lawyer for detained Pastor Apollo Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, are among those charged in an inciting to sedition case filed by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in relation to the serving of arrest warrants against Quiboloy at the KOJC compound last August.
The case has been submitted for resolution to prosecutors at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“He was more than free to criticize the government. We had no problem with that. But when he crossed the line, he should have been responsible and brave enough to face the consequences. And if he feels he has nothing to hide, then why seek foreign sanctuary?” he asked.
