Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Thursday called the statement of Rappler “unfounded” and “unfair” after the online news organization said that the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) order to probe the case is just a “fishing expedition and simple harassment.”
The DOJ on Wednesday, January 17, ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate any possible criminal liabilities of Rappler.
Aguirre stressed that the DOJ never intended to interfere or violate as it respects the freedom of the press.
“The statement of Rappler is clearly unfounded and most unfair to the good men and women of the NBI and of the Department of Justice as a whole. Department Order 17 which granted to the NBI the authority to conduct investigation and case build up over possible violation of the constitution and laws by Rappler, was never intended to interfere nor violate press freedom,” Aguirre said.
“We want to emphasize that your DOJ respects press freedom. However, to borrow the words of the National Press Club, responsible journalism means compliance with the law,” he added.
Aguirre said that Rappler should welcome and actively participate in the investigation.
“Your DOJ is only after the truth, we owe the Filipino people that much. Rappler’s active participation in the NBI’s investigation will greatly help in bringing out the truth,” he said.
“When the Constitution or any law has been violated by Rappler, necessarily the DOJ will be involved in its investigation, otherwise the DOJ will be remiss in its duties. We acted after receiving an official communication from the SEC which included a copy of their decision on the Rappler case,” he added.
Rappler earlier said in a statement that it is clear that the government’s agenda is to kill press freedom.
“This is a fishing expedition, and pure and simple harassment. We thought this was supposed to be in relation to PDRs and the alleged violation of the Constitution,” Rappler said.
On Thursday, January 11, the commission en banc said that Rappler Inc. and its parent Rappler Holdings Corp. violated the Foreign Equity Restriction in Article XVI, Section 11(1) of the Constitution which states, “The ownership and management of mass media shall be limited to citizens of the Philippines, or to corporations, cooperatives or associations, wholly-owned and managed by such citizens.”