A court in the Philippines has voided a shutdown order that was issued against Rappler, an independent news outlet known for its scrutiny of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.
Rappler, which was co-founded by the Nobel Peace laureate and journalist Maria Ressa, had been issued a shutdown order in 2018, during Duterte’s administration, over claims it had contravened restrictions on foreign ownership in media.
The court of appeals overturned the order in a judgment last month, saying Rappler was “wholly owned and managed by Filipinos.” It said it disagreed with a “draconian interpretation” by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), accusing it of a “grave abuse of discretion.”
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Rappler welcomed the judgment as “a vindication after a tortuous eight years of harassment.” It said: “It’s a fact that the Duterte government used the SEC order to unleash its power to further harass us, our employees, our stakeholders and our communities.”
Founded in 2012, Rappler was at the forefront of exposing corruption under Duterte. It documented thousands of extrajudicial killings that occurred under his “war on drugs.”
The outlet and its journalists have faced harassment, threats and a series of legal charges, although these have gradually been dismissed or withdrawn. Duterte left office in 2022 after reaching the end of his term limit and was succeeded by Ferdinand Marcos Jr, whose previous alliance with the Duterte family has soured.
There are two remaining cases facing Rappler. The first is a cyberlibel conviction against Ressa and a former researcher, Reynaldo Santos Jr, which the outlet has petitioned for review at the Philippine Supreme Court.
Ressa and other Rappler directors are also accused of contravening the “anti-dummy law,” which prohibits Filipino nationals from acting as proxies for noncitizens to circumvent legal restrictions.
Duterte has denied that legal cases were politically motivated.
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