(Eagle News) – The Securities and Exchange Commission has directed the revocation of the Certificate of Incorporation of the online news site Rappler, and its holding firm, Rappler Holdings Corporation, saying it violated the Constitution that barred foreign ownership of media.
In a decision dated January 11, 2018, the SEC said that both companies violated Philippine laws, specifically the Foreign Equity Restriction under the Philippine Constitution.
The SEC said that Rappler, Inc. and Rappler Holdings Corporation were “liable for violating the constitutional and statutory Foreign Equity Restrictions in Mass Media enforceable through rules and laws within the mandate of the Commission.”
“Revocation of Certificate of Incorporation on each respondent—Rappler Inc. being the mass media entity that sold control to foreigners, and Rappler Holdings Corporation being its alter ego, existing for no other purpose than to effect a deceptive scheme to circumvent the Constitution,” the SEC’s 29-page decision read.
Rappler said it would exhaust all legal means to contest the decision.
In its own news item about the issue, Rappler called the ruling “a blow to press freedom.”
“We intend to not only contest this through all legal processes available to us, but also to fight for our freedom to do journalism and for your right to be heard through an independent platform like Rappler,” Rappler said in a separate statement posted on its website.
