Secretary Martin Andanar, acting presidential spokesperson. (INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — Online news organization Rappler can avail of remedies to the closure order of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Malacañang said Wednesday.
“Let the law take its course, and allow the Securities and Exchange Commission to perform its mandate,” Secretary Martin Andanar, acting presidential spokesman, said in a statement.
But he added: “Rappler may avail of remedies accorded to it by law.”
Rappler CEO Maria Ressa earlier announced that the SEC had affirmed its earlier decision to shut down the online news organization.
“We were notified by our lawyers of this ruling that effectively confirmed the shutdown of Rappler,” the company’s statement read.
Ressa said Rappler would appeal the decision “especially since the proceedings were highly irregular.”
The SEC first ordered the revocation of Rappler’s license to operate in 2018.
In a 29-page ruling, it said the online media outfit was “liable for violating the constitutional and statutory Foreign Equity Restrictions in Mass Media enforceable through rules and laws within the mandate of the Commission.”
Rappler later asked the Court of Appeals to annul the decision, saying that its right to due process was violated when the order was released without a formal charge.
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