MANILA, Philippines — Local and international groups welcomed Rappler’s latest legal victory against a shutdown order issued under former president Rodrigo Duterte, calling it “long overdue” in the fight for press freedom in the Philippines.
The Court of Appeals, in a decision dated July 23, ordered the restoration of Rappler’s certificate of incorporation six years after the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered it revoked in January 2018.
Rappler received a copy of the decision on Friday, August 9. In the decision, the CA Special 7th Division said that Rappler Holdings and Rappler “are currently wholly owned and managed by Filipinos, in compliance with the Constitutional mandate,” and that the SEC en banc “plowed through law and jurisprudence to reach its mark — the death of Rappler.”
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) called the victory a “vindication for the Rapplers who continued to report and hold the line through the years.”
“The CA’s finding that the [SEC] committed grave abuse of discretion is a rebuke of the Duterte administration’s weaponization of the law against criticism, dissent, and transparency,” the NUJP said in a statement.
“May the justice achieved on this day signal better days ahead for other media workers also facing legal challenges related to their work,” it added.
The Hold the Line Coalition — composed of journalism groups Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the International Center for Journalists — said that the decision “though long overdue, represents another victory for Rappler and for press freedom.”
“We are hugely relieved that Rappler will no longer have to operate under the threat of forced closure, and welcome this latest victory in the many legal battles Rappler and Maria Ressa have faced over the past several years,” the coalition said.
“The country’s judiciary must demonstrate resolutely that it can no longer be instrumentalized to silence independent reporting by closing the remaining two court cases without delay,” it added, calling for two remaining cases against cases to be dismissed.
The international legal team representing Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa welcomed the latest victory after years of legal harassment. “The law should not be weaponized to silence [Ressa] who speaks truth to power,” the counsels said in a statement.
“Although we celebrate this legal victory, Maria still faces years in prison in other spurious cases,” Amal Clooney said in a statement on Monday, August 12. “The government could drop these charges at any point — and should demonstrate their commitment to press freedom by doing so now.”
Rappler is still facing two legal battles. Ressa and former researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr.’s cyberlibel conviction is being appealed before the Supreme Court while there is one remaining anti-dummy case pending in a Pasig City court.
Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, meanwhile, said that the CA confirmed that the SEC proceedings against Rappler “were baseless and unfair, and designed to kill off a successful, innovative media company.” And while the latest decision is good news for Philippine media, she urges the Marcos administration to do more.
“It is imperative that the government now draws a line, drops the outstanding charges, and concedes all outstanding appeals,“ the lawyer said. “Journalism is not a crime — this legal harassment must end now.“
Women in Journalism said that it is “overjoyed” over the CA’s decision to void the SEC shutdown order.
“The verdict is not only a win for Rappler but a testament to Maria Ressa’s struggle toward upholding press freedom and the truth, despite the challenges faced under Duterte’s administration,” the group said.
The Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP) lauded the legal victory and said that it is “also a victory of the press and press freedom” since the case was a “calculated move by Duterte’s administration to silence dissent, cripple and debilitate opposition, and to mislead and deceive the masses.”
“The attack on Rappler was not just an isolated assault and harassment towards the media institution but a direct threat and systematic repression against freedom of the Press in the Philippines,” it said.
“SCAP, with the student movement, remains unwavering and steadfast in solidarity with the Fourth Estate in its battles as watchdogs of transparency, accountability, and good governance,” the group added. — Rappler.com