41 journalists join Rappler call to end Duterte coverage ban

Forty-one journalists on Tuesday joined Rappler's call for the Supreme Court to end President Rodrigo Duterte's ban on the online news outlet's coverage of his activities.

In a petition for intervention filed by human rights lawyer Theodore Te of the Free Legal Assistance Group, dozens of journalists and columnists urged the justices to declare as unconstitutional and annul the Duterte coverage ban on Rappler's reporters.

They also asked the high court to set the case for oral arguments.

The journalists said the ban constitutes content-based prior restraint and is "arbitrary" for having been based on "no discernible standards other than personal displeasure" on the part of the President.

Prior restraint refers to "official government restrictions on the press or other forms of expression in advance of actual publication or dissemination," according to a 2008 High Court decision.

While the 41 journalists and columnists have not been barred from covering Duterte's activities, the ban "is already in place" and "extends not only to Rappler and to its reporters and staff but also to any journalist who would write or broadcast anything that the President deems to be 'fake news,'" they said.

"As journalists and/or broadcasters, petitioners-in-intervention are clearly entitled to the freedom of the press under Section 4, Article III of the 1987 Constitution," the new filing states.

Among the journalists and columnists who signed the petition are Marites Vitug, Inday Varona, John Nery, Solita Monsod, Nikko Dizon, Lourd de Veyra, Marlon Ramos, Melina Quinto De Jesus, Vergel Santos, Florangel Braid, Luis Teodoro, Tina Palma, Atom Araullo, Sandra Aguinaldo, Raffy Tima, and Mariz Umali.

In an earlier petition, Rappler Inc. and several of its reporters, including Malacañang reporter Pia Ranada, asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order stopping the government from implementing the ban.

Ranada was first banned from entering the part of the presidential palace where press briefings are held in February 2018, an order she said she learned came from the president himself.

Shortly after, she was barred from entering the entire compound and from covering any public event attended by Duterte. She has continued reporting on the chief executive despite the ban.

Duterte said his action was based on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruling that revoked Rappler's certificate of incorporation on an allegation the news site violated the constitutional restriction on foreign ownership of media.

Rappler claims it is owned entirely by Filipinos. The Court of Appeals has remanded the SEC decision back to the corporate regulator for review. — RSJ, GMA News