Manila, June 29, 2022 (AFP) – News website Rappler, co-founded by the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, went online Wednesday (29), hours after it received the shutdown order. On the last day of Rodrigo Duterte’s term as president.
Ressa has been fiercely critical of Duterte and the deadly war on drugs he launched after he took over the presidency in 2016, which has earned the journalist and the Rappler website a long list of allegations, investigations and attacks.
The closing order was issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines.
In a statement, the agency confirmed that Rappler’s “foundation papers were revoked” for violating “constitutional and regulatory restrictions on foreign ownership of media.”
Rappler said the decision “effectively confirms” the company’s shutdown, but said he plans to appeal the measure, calling the process “very erratic”.
Ressa assured him that the site would remain operational during the legal battle. “We continue to work as usual,” said the journalist.
Duterte’s successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “We can only think things will get better,” he added.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr, son of the former dictator of the same name, will take over as Duterte’s successor on Thursday.
Activists fear the presidency is an even worse time for the country’s human rights and freedom of expression.
Maria Ressa’s website has had to struggle to survive in the face of allegations that the government has violated a constitutional clause prohibiting foreign ownership for funding, tax evasion and cyber libel.
Duterte once called Rappler a “fake news site”, especially after an article about one of his closest collaborators.
Rappler is accused of allowing outsiders to take control of the site by issuing “deposit receipts” through its parent company, Rappler Holdings.
– Uncertain future – Under the constitution, investments in the media are reserved for Filipinos or Filipino controlled entities.
The indictment is based on a 2015 investment in Rappler by Omidyar Network, an American company created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.
Omidyar Network then turned the investment over to the site’s local administrators to prevent Duterte from trying to shut down Rappler.
Maria Ressa, who also holds US citizenship, and Russian journalist Dmitri Muratov won the Nobel Peace Prize in October for their efforts to “protect freedom of expression”.
Muratov’s newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, suspended its operations in Russia in March after a law was passed punishing those who criticized the invasion of Ukraine.
Ressa faces seven more lawsuits, including an appeal against a six-year prison sentence for libel.
The International Center for Journalists has asked the government to overturn the decision.
“Legal harassment not only costs Rappler time, money and energy. It allows online violence designed to silence independent journalism,” the organization said on Twitter.
Rappler’s future is uncertain.
The president-elect gave a few tips on his views on the site and freedom of expression in general.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr has repeatedly avoided giving interviews and holding press conferences, choosing to spread his messages through his spokesperson and social networks.
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source: Noticias
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