FORMER senator Leila de Lima on Saturday hailed the Court of Appeals (CA) decision, reversing a previous ruling by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission that ordered the closure of Rappler, a news site co-founded by Nobel laureate Maria Ressa.
“As with my cases, the case against Rappler had no chance of surviving with [former president Rodrigo] Duterte out of power, and given an independent judiciary,” de Lima wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“They were filed and prosecuted using the strong arm of the state to persecute Duterte’s critics and perceived opponents,” she added.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, CEO of online news site Rappler, reacts before entering the Rappler office in Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines, 09 August 2024. The Philippines’ Court of Appeals has ordered the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to restore Rappler’s certificate of incorporation, rendering void a shutdown order by the SEC issued in January 2018. The ruling legitimizes the existence of Rappler as a corporate entity allowed by Philippine law. EPA-EFE/ROLEX DELA PENA
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) issued a congratulatory message to Rappler for its legal victory.
“The CA’s finding that the Securities and Exchange Commission 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 on Friday.
“It is also vindication for the Rapplers who continued to report and hold the line through the years. 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.
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