The Court of Appeals (CA) has ordered Rappler, the country’s media regulator, to reinstate their license, the company on Friday.
“Rappler has won its biggest case as a company, as the Court of Appeals has voided the 2018 shutdown order of the Duterte-time Securities and Exchange Commission,” they posted on X, formerly Twitter, referring to former president Rodrigo Duterte.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission is ordered to restore the Certificate of Incorporation of Rappler, Inc. and Rappler Holdings Corporation in its records and system and withdraw all its issuances and actions made pursuant to its illegal revocation of the same,” CA said.
The media outlet enraged Duterte by reporting on abuses of power and extrajudicial executions under the former president’s war on drugs campaign.
Both the 2018 ruling and the 2022 decision upholding the 2018 verdict found that Rappler had violated the laws pertaining to foreign ownership of media companies.
Maria Ressa, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, was found guilty of cyber libel but is presently not being held in custody.
“The facts show that Rappler Holdings, and by extension Rappler, are currently wholly owned and managed by Filipinos, in compliance with the Constitutional mandate,” CA added.
Photo courtesy: Rappler