MANILA, Philippines — Online news site Rappler vowed to take its fight all the way to the Supreme Court, following the ruling of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to revoke its license to operate.
In an interview with the ABS-CBN News Channel, Rappler Chief Executive Officer Maria Ressa said that Rappler has not allowed foreigners any form of control to the company, as stated by the decision of the SEC.
“They are not veto powers. That is the interpretation of this one which we are going to challenge all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to,” Ressa said.
Earlier, the SEC, in a 29-page ruling dated January 11, has revoked the registration of Rappler and its controlling shareholder Rappler Holdings Corp. for supposed violation of the constitution in terms of foreign ownership and management of mass media.
Ressa explained that the provision being probed in the Philippine Depo Depositary Receipts (PDRs) issued to Omidyar Network (ON) of eBay founder and entrepreneur Pierre Omidyar was only a section that permits them to leave if they disapprove with the corporate decision of the company.
“They can disagree but they cannot change what (we) plan to do in the company… We gave them the power to leave if they don’t want what we’re doing,” Ressa said.
Ressa also explained that the ON also renounced the section when it found out that SEC found it problematic.
“What they did, they ignored it…When they made a decision, they did not ask us to comment, they did not allow us to fix anything. I think that’s where you see that this is political in nature,” Ressa added.
She also said that the SEC arrived at an ‘’overkill’’ ruling to revoke the license of Rappler, which Ressa said that is in contrast with other cases handled by the SEC where they allowed the defendants to do an overhaul of the provisions they have problems with it.
“We understand what the SEC can see in it, but we’re never given a chance to respond… (We had) no chance to respond, no chance to fix. We already showed that we want to fix (it),” Ressa said.
Ressa further described their case as a ‘’political attack,” a ‘’harassment,” and ‘’government-instigated,” saying the probe was prompted by a letter from Solicitor General Jose Calida.
“I have great respect for some of the people who are in the SEC, but I have been told that there is political pressure, this is political in nature… They are trying to attack us at an economic angle,” Ressa added.
Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the order of the SEC was not an attack on press freedom.
Rappler, in a statement posted on its website, said that it “will continue bringing you the news, holding the powerful to account for their actions and decisions, calling attention to government lapses that further disempower the disadvantaged. We will hold the line.”
The news outfit also vowed to exhaust other legal means until the decision becomes final.