Rappler vows to continue bringing news: ‘We will hold the line’

Online news site Rappler on Monday said it will continue bringing the news, “holding the powerful to account for their actions and decisions, calling attention to government lapses that disempower the disadvantaged.”

Rappler is currently under fire after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday revoked its registration to operate.

“We’ve been through a lot together, through good and bad — sharing stories, building communities, inspiring hope, uncovering wrongdoing, battling trolls, exposing the fake,” Rappler said in its statement.

“We will hold the line,” Rappler said.

According to the online media outfit, the commitment that it gave to its readers inspired them and gave them courage.

“The support you’ve shown us all this time, and our commitment to tell you stories without fear, give us hope. You inspire courage,” it said.

“You have taught us that when you stand and fight for what is right, there is no dead-end, only obstacles that can only make us stronger. We ask you to stand with us again at this difficult time,” Rappler added.

According to the statement, Rappler did not foresee the sudden turn of events despite being warned in the first week of December last year.

“We thought this day would never come, even as we were warned in the first of week of December last year that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would be handing down an adverse ruling against us,” the online news website said.

“Because we have acted in good faith and adhered to the best standards in a fast-evolving business environment, we were confident that the country’s key business regulator would put public interest above other interests that were at play in this case,” it said.

Rappler said it thought that the investigation done by the SEC was merely a “customary due diligence act”; however, “We were wrong,” the news website said.

“What this means for you, and for us, is that the Commission is ordering us to close shop, to cease telling you stories, to stop speaking truth to power, and to let go of everything that we have built – and created – with you since 2012. All because they focused on one clause in one of our contracts which we submitted to – and was accepted by – the SEC in 2015,” it said.

The Commission said Rappler violated the “constitutional and statutory Foreign Equity Restrictions in Mass Media” but Rappler pointed out that from the very start, they have been “transparent and above-board in our practices.”

“Every year since we incorporated in 2012, we have dutifully complied with all SEC regulations and submitted all requirements even at the risk of exposing our corporate data to irresponsible hands with an agenda. Transparency, we believe, is the best proof of good faith and good conduct,” Rappler said.

Rappler described the SEC’s order as “harassment.”

“This is pure and simple harassment, the seeming coup de grace to the relentless and malicious attacks against us since 2016,” it said.

“We intend to not only contest this through all legal processes available to us, but also to fight for our freedom to do journalism and for your right to be heard through an independent platform like Rappler,” Rappler added. /je