After authorities in the Philippines ordered Rappler to shut shop, investigative news platform’s founder, Nobel laureate Maria Ressa, decried “highly irregular” proceedings and said the news organisation couldn’t count on the rule of law anymore.
Rappler has been embroiled in legal tussles ever since its credentials were first revoked in 2018, after the authorities claimed it had sold control to a foreign entity in breach of foreign ownership restrictions. Rappler denied its US investor funding was in breach of the law. In the latest ruling, the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission upheld the previous decision saying the commission as well as the courts found that the revenue model was unconstitutional.
