The Court of Appeals (CA) Special 7th Division of the Philippines has overturned a previous order by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to revoke the certificate of incorporation for the news website Rappler. This decision, described by Rappler as a “vindication after a tortuous eight years of harassment,” affirms that the SEC acted with “grave abuse of discretion, contravening established procedures, jurisprudential and legal instructions, and clear intent of the constitution.”
The appellate court’s ruling, detailed in a 48-page document, underscores the importance of press freedom, dedicating its final seven pages to this fundamental right. Rappler, founded by 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa and other journalists, has been in the crosshairs of the government due to its critical coverage of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial “war on drugs.” The operation led to the systematic killing of thousands of alleged drug suspects, scrutinized extensively by Rappler according to Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression.
The dispute began in 2018 when the Philippine government accused Rappler of violating constitutional restrictions on media ownership and operating as a foreign entity. Subsequently, the SEC revoked Rappler’s operating license, a decision it later affirmed in 2022. Throughout this period, Rappler has maintained that the actions against it were in retaliation for its unflinching reportage on government corruption and Duterte’s lethal drug policies The Guardian reported.
Rappler’s lead counsel, Francis Lim, expressed gratitude for the court’s decision, stating, “I had no doubt in my mind that this day would come. We thank the Court of Appeals for the decision that has tremendous impact on the ability of our corporates to raise capital and more importantly, on the freedom of the press and our democracy.” Rappler emphasized in its statement the significance of the ruling, noting that the decision eliminates a long-standing threat to its corporate existence.
This case is one of several concerning press freedom in the Philippines. Another prominent example includes the government’s action in February 2020 to strip ABS-CBN, the country’s largest broadcast network, of its franchise under Duterte’s administration, which was perceived as a blatant attack on press freedom according to JURIST.