World
Philippine Court Restores Rappler’s License: A Victory for Press Freedom
The Philippine court’s decision to restore Rappler’s license marks a significant victory for press freedom. This landmark ruling reinforces the importance of independent journalism in the country and highlights the ongoing struggle for media rights.
Victory for Press Freedom: Rappler’s License Restored by Philippine Court
A Philippine court has made a significant decision to overturn a previous ruling against the independent news website Rappler, leading to the restoration of the company’s business license. This ruling, announced on Friday, marks a rare triumph for press freedom in Southeast Asia, a region often fraught with challenges for journalists and media organizations.
The legal battle surrounding Rappler is part of a broader campaign waged by the government of former President Rodrigo Duterte, which involved numerous criminal and civil complaints against the news outlet. Among the charges filed were serious allegations including tax evasion, violations of foreign ownership regulations, and cyber libel. These cases have primarily targeted Rappler’s co-founder, Maria Ressa, who is also a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, alongside other board members and staff.
Rappler’s investigative reporting, particularly its coverage of Duterte’s controversial and brutal anti-drug campaign, has drawn the ire of the former president. In an interview with The New York Times in 2022, Ressa characterized the various legal actions against her and her organization as acts of “harassment and intimidation,” aimed at stifling independent journalism.
The most recent court decision pertains to one of Rappler’s most significant legal challenges, which involves the revocation of its operating license that occurred in 2018. This revocation was executed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which argued that an investment from the Omidyar Network, founded by eBay’s Pierre Omidyar, breached the constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership of local media outlets. Specifically, the Philippine Constitution prohibits foreign entities from owning media organizations operating within the country.
Despite the SEC’s order, Rappler continued its operations while seeking a resolution to the legal matter. However, the regulatory challenges contributed to a precarious situation for the news organization. In 2020, the SEC reaffirmed its earlier decision, but Rappler maintained that the investment from Omidyar Network did not equate to foreign ownership in a controlling sense and did not infringe upon the law. The news outlet pledged to escalate the case to the Court of Appeals in pursuit of justice.