DOJ probing criminal liabilities of Rappler executives

The legal battle of online media group Rappler is just starting.

Following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision revoking its corporate registration, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has also started its investigation on possible criminal liabilities of Rappler.

“I have directed my legal staff to study the legal issues of this case,” Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II told reporters.

Aside from the legal issue involving Rappler’s reported violation of the constitutional prohibition on foreign ownership, Aguirre said their investigation will also cover  possible criminal liabilities of executives.

“Yes, it will cover all angles,” Aguirre said.

The SEC, in its ruling revoked Rappler’s corporate registration for violating the constitutional provision on foreign ownership.

Article 16, Section 11 (1) of the 1987 Constitution provides that ownership and management of media “shall be limited to citizens of the Philippines, or to corporations, cooperatives or associations, wholly owned and managed by such citizens.”

The body conducted its investigation upon request by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) which wrote the agency in December 2016.

Rappler’s coverage of the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war, cited by several foreign media entities, has earned the ire of President Duterte, who consistently threatened to close the media company.