Advertisement

Philippine news site Rappler allowed to operate after court overturns 2022 shutdown order

  • The court overturned a 2022 shutdown order that said Rappler violated constitutional and statutory restrictions on foreign ownership in mass media

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, CEO of online news site Rappler. Ressa and Rappler have been fighting multiple court cases filed during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s administration. Photo: EPA-EFE

A Philippine news site co-founded by Nobel laureate Maria Ressa can continue operating after a court overturned a shutdown order, according to the ruling released Friday, the latest legal victory for the media outfit.

Advertisement

Ressa and Rappler have been fighting multiple court cases filed during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.

Ressa, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, was a vocal critic of Duterte and the deadly drug war he launched in 2016.

That triggered what media advocates say was a grinding series of criminal charges, probes and online attacks against her and Rappler.

“It’s a day of celebration, it’s a day of hope,” a smiling Ressa told a press conference in the Rappler newsroom in Manila.

Advertisement

The Court of Appeals decision, issued on July 23 but only released to the media on Friday, reversed a previous ruling by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission that ordered the shutdown of Rappler.

Advertisement