Rappler reporter Pia Ranada briefly barred from entering Palace grounds

Malacañang on Tuesday briefly barred Rappler reporter Pia Ranada from entering the New Executive Building where the press office is located, citing orders from higher ups.

Ranada, a member of the Malacañang Press Corps, was initially stopped by the Presidential Security Group (PSG) from entering the building.

Later, the PSG officer told Ranada she was allowed to go inside NEB only and not to the Palace.

The security officer did not say who issued the order to disallow Ranada from covering Palace events. 

Sought for clarification, presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr., relaying the “verbal statement” of Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, said Rappler was still allowed to cover President Rodrigo Duterte and Malacañang pending resolution of the online news site’s appeal on the government’s decision to revoke its incorporation papers.

If the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruling becomes final and is upheld by the courts, Roque said Rappler would have to apply for accreditation with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) whose members are only allowed to cover on event basis only.

The SEC revoked Rappler’s certificate of incorporation last month for supposedly violating the constitutional prohibition on foreign ownership of mass media.

According to the SEC, Rappler violated the Constitution and laws when it allowed Omidyar Network, one of the Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDR) holders of Rappler, to exercise control over its corporate affairs as provided for in their internal agreement, in exchange for a fund infusion of $1 million.

Rappler has repeatedly earned the ire of Duterte and other Palace officials over what they term as irresponsible reporting.

Appearing in a Senate inquiry on Monday, Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go slammed Rappler and the Philippine Daily Inquirer for coming out with articles that he intervened in the frigate deal or influenced the selection process for the combat management system (CMS) of the two new warships to be built by a South Korean firm.

Go said his name was being dragged into the controversy due to the “malicious” news reports published by two news outlets, Rappler and the Philippine Daily Inquirer, in early January.

The reports alleged that Go meddled in the frigate deal.

He chided the two media outlets, calling the news articles as “fake news” and “irresponsible reporting.” 

In a "Saksi" report on Tuesday evening, Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Rappler cannot cover Malacañang until the Court of Appeals has issued a temporary restraining order on the SEC ruling.

Also on Tuesday evening, Medialdea said the online news site is not allowed to cover Malacañang.  — RSJ/MDM/BAP, GMA News