Philippine journalist Maria Ressa’s online news site Rappler was yesterday ordered to shut down, a day before Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was due to leave office, but she vowed to keep the site running.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been a vocal critic of Duterte and the deadly drug war that he launched in 2016, triggering what media advocates say is a grinding series of criminal charges, probes and online attacks against her and Rappler.
The latest blow was delivered by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The commission confirmed in a statement yesterday the “revocation of the certificates of incorporation” of Rappler for contravening “constitutional and statutory restrictions on foreign ownership in mass media.”
The decision “effectively confirmed the shutdown” of the firm and vowed to appeal, Rappler said, describing the proceedings as “highly irregular.”
However, Ressa was characteristically defiant, vowing that the news site would continue to operate as they followed the legal process.
“We continue to work. It is business as usual,” Ressa told reporters.
“We can only hope for the best” under Duterte’s successor, Philippine president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr, she added.
Marcos Jr takes over from Duterte today.
Rights advocates fear Marcos Jr’s presidency could worsen the situation for human rights and freedom of speech in the country.
Rappler has had to fight for survival as Duterte’s government accused it of contravening a constitutional ban on foreign ownership in securing funding, as well as tax evasion.
Rappler has also been accused of cyberlibel — a new criminal law introduced in 2012, the same year the news site was founded.
Duterte has attacked Rappler by name — calling it a “fake news outlet” — over a story about one of his closest aides.
The news site is accused of allowing foreigners to take control of its Web site through its parent company Rappler Holdings’ issuance of “depositary receipts.”
Ressa is fighting at least seven court cases, including an appeal against a conviction in a cyberlibel case, for which she is on bail and faces up to six years in prison.
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