Philippines court voids order to shut down independent news site Rappler

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/09/philippines-court-voids-order-to-shut-down-independent-news-site-rappler

Philippines court voids order to shut down independent news site Rappler

Outlet, which was hit with order during Rodrigo Duterte administration, hails ruling after ‘eight years of harassment’

Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent
Fri 9 Aug 2024 08.14 EDT

A court in the Philippines has voided a shutdown order that was issued against Rappler, an independent news outlet known for its scrutiny of the former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Rappler, which was co-founded by the Nobel peace prize laureate Maria Ressa, had been issued a shutdown order in 2018, during Duterte’s administration, over claims it had violated 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 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), accusing it of a “grave abuse of discretion”.

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.”

… more …