Philippine authorities ordered the shutdown of independent news organization Rappler and the blocking of news websites Bulatlat and Pinoy Weekly. Maria Ressa, co-founder, CEO and executive editor of Rappler on Tuesday.
Ressa, who is a 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the 2018 recipient of CPJ’s Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award, and her news organization face a sustained campaign of legal persecution, which has also targeted her colleagues. In June alone, prosecutors threw out 28 cases of cyber libel against Rappler that had been filed since January.
The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) order revoking Rappler’s license to operate is the first of its kind in history – both for the Commission and for Philippine media. The SEC decision upheld an earlier ruling revoking the news outlet’s operating license for violating foreign ownership rules, which Rappler denies.
SEC’s ruling against Rappler came just days before President Rodrigo Duterte stepped down after six years in power and President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was inaugurated. In a public letter sent in May, Committee to Protest Journalists (CPJ) called on Marcos to reverse his predecessor’s various press freedom-eroding actions and policies, including against Rappler and Altermidya network members.
The International Press Institute (IPI) global network expressed outrage over Philippine authorities ordering the shutdown of Rappler, the pioneering news organization. “The Philippine’s decision to shut down Rappler is a flagrant attempt to silence a critical media outlet and a serious violation of press freedom, which has rapidly eroded under the Duterte administration”, IPI Deputy Director Scott Griffen said. IPI called on the authorities to withdraw this order immediately.
