Rappler to Malacañang: Respect judicial process, don’t use power to obstruct

Online news website Rappler insisted that it should not be banned from covering Malacañang as the Securities and Exchange Commission's revocation of the media firm's certificate of incorporation is not yet executory.

"Our accreditation to cover Malacañang cannot be cancelled on the basis of the SEC ruling because no less than the SEC itself has said its decision to revoke our registration is not final and executory. The case has been elevated to the Court of Appeals and is awaiting final decision," Rappler said in an official statement on Tuesday.

"The Palace cannot jump the gun in this latest attempt to evade public scrutiny and monopolize the conversation on matters of public interest. The executive branch must respect the judicial process and await the court's decision," Rappler added.

Earlier, Rappler journalist Pia Ranada was banned from entering the premises of Malacañang. According to Ranada, it was President Rodrigo Duterte himself who prohibited her from entering the Palace.

Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra disclosed that Rappler's media accreditation with the Malacañang Press Corps has "accordingly ceased."

Rappler decried the act as "another instance of power attempting to intimidate independent journalists."

"It is the first time, post-Marcos, that a duly-elected president has banned particular journalists from entering the Palace," Rappler said.

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.

The National Press Club (NPC), meanwhile, said in a statement that "the decision by some over-eager palace mandarins against Ms. Pia Ranada is uncalled for. It was in fact a disservice to their principal, Pres. Duterte, and his administration."

The NPC added that "journalists, like public officials they often criticized, should not be onion-skinned nor be possessed with the culture of entitlement. We sometimes deserve the treatment we get by the way we comport ourselves. Tit for tat." — Anna Felicia Bajo/BM/BAP, GMA News