Rappler calls the decision to overturn the shutdown order ‘vindication after torturous eight years of harassment.’
A Philippine court has ordered the country’s corporate regulator to restore the license of Rappler, a news website co-founded by Nobel laureate Maria Ressa, a prominent critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Ressa and Rappler have been fighting several lawsuits filed during the Duterte administration.
The Court of Appeals, in a ruling dated July 23 but released to the media only on Friday, reversed an earlier ruling by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that had ordered the closure of Rappler.
The SEC in 2018 terminated Rappler’s operating license for violating foreign equity restrictions on domestic media when it sold depository rights to a foreign entity. The decision was maintained in 2022, days before Duterte left office.
The appeals court said the SEC “acted with a grave abuse of discretion” in revoking Rappler’s certificate of incorporation.
The news site welcomed the decision, saying that “the latest in a series of legal victories for Rappler is a much-needed reminder that journalism’s mission can thrive even in the line of fire: speaking truth to power, holding the line , to build a better world.”
Rappler also said in its declaration which “is vindication after eight tortuous years of harassment. The CA was unequivocal in its rejection of the SEC’s 2018 shutdown order, declaring it “illegal” and a “serious abuse of discretion.”
Rappler continued operating while it appealed the SEC’s order.
According to the constitution, investment in the media is reserved for Filipinos or Filipino-controlled entities. The case arose from a 2015 investment by US-based Omidyar Network, created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.
Rappler had previously argued that Omidyar Network was a silent investor. Omidyar later transferred his investment in Rappler to the site’s local managers to avoid Duterte’s efforts to shut it down.
Human Rights Watch investigator Carlos Conde said that “justice and common sense prevailed”, considering the court’s decision “long overdue”.
Ressa is currently out on bail after being convicted in 2020 in a cyber libel case. She appealed the decision to the country’s highest court. She has since been acquitted of five government charges of tax evasion.
She also faces the prospect of a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison if convicted in a separate case arising from the Omidyar investment.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
