Six radio stations were unexpectedly closed on Monday on the orders of the President of the National Commission of Public Spectacles and Radiophony’s (CNEPR) Subcommission on Public Spectacles, Juan José Santana Medrano. Santana Medrano claimed that the stations were "illegal." Closed were Bendición FM (95.9), Bomba FM (89.1), Señal FM, Hacienda FM, Máquina FM (94.3) and Tiempo 99.7. Elpidio Tolentino, Director of Tiempo 99.7, said that if the Subcommission felt the radio stations had committed a violation, they should have sent a notification to the offending stations first, not summarily close them. Tolentino suggested that there might be a politically motivated act, since some of the closed stations had recently begun denouncing alleged acts of official corruption in government institutions. Francisco Martínez, one of the owners of Hacienda FM and a former Reformista Senator, also condemned the closings as a politically motivated act. Asked about the affair by reporters, CNEPR had no official comment. However, a trusted CNEPR source privately told the news daily El Siglo that CNEPR headquarters does not know what exactly is going on in this case. The source also pointed out that legally speaking, it is the Directorate-General of Telecommunications, not CNEPR, that must decide if a station is broadcasting legally or not.
