PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday denied ordering the shutdown of a news website critical of his administration, pointing out that the corporate regulators who revoked its papers were all appointees of the previous administration.
Duterte however said Rappler should be held responsible for violating the law just as it held the government accountable for its actions.
The President was referring to the January 15 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruling that found
Rappler in violation of the constitutional provision requiring 100-percent Filipino ownership of a mass media entity.
“We never had a hand. I don’t give a shit if you [Rappler] continue [with your operations] or not. The SEC commissioners are all appointed by [former president Benigno] Aquino [3rd]. How can the decision be political? I don’t care about that,” Duterte said in remarks during the inauguration of new air traffic facilities in Pasay City on Tuesday evening.
“Now that you are under probe, you say it is harassment? P*******a. Kung kami magmura, mali? Pag kayo gumawa ng kalokohan, okay kayo? (Son of a bitch. If we in the government mouth expletives, you say it’s wrong.
And yet when you are the one doing something fishy, you’re fine with it” Duterte added.
“It’s (press freedom) a privilege in any democratic state; you have abused this privilege. You are funded by foreign money; are you not ashamed of that? And you had the gall to attack people using foreign money.”
Malacañang said on Tuesday the SEC decision to revoke online news organization Rappler’s corporate registration was not media censorship.
The SEC found that Rappler is required to secure the two-thirds vote of its Philippine Depository Receipts holders or investors, including the foreign-owned Omidyar Network, before it could amend its articles of incorporation.
The SEC interpreted this as giving foreigners control of Rappler, thus violating the 1987 Constitution.
Solicitor General Jose Calida sought an SEC investigation into Rappler’s ownership in December 2016.
Roque said: “We would like to deny that the state has infringed on the freedom of the press, particularly of Rappler or any of its reporters. Their reporters are not prevented from exercising their profession. This is not an attack on the press. If the President wanted to do that, he could have just sent the armed forces and padlocked them as done by other regimes.”
The President has repeatedly criticized Rappler, as well as the Philippine Daily Inquirer and ABS-CBN, for their supposedly unfair coverage.
Roque defended SEC Chairman Teresita Herbosa, saying she was of unquestionable integrity.
“The amount of respect you [journalists] have for [Rappler chief] Maria Ressa is the same kind of respect accorded to Chairman Herbosa among us lawyers. We find it difficult to accept that Chairman Herbosa can be influenced into making a decision contrary to law. She is not capable of that. It is unfair to say she is a mere lackey of the President,” Roque said.
In a news conference held after the SEC released its decision, Ressa, a former CNN Jakarta bureau chief, claimed the SEC ruling was an attack of press freedom, if not harassment from the Duterte administration.
She maintained that Rappler is 100-percent Filipino-owned as required by the Constitution since Omidyar does not enjoy voting rights in Rappler board.
Roque cried foul over Ressa’s claims.
“It was unfair for Maria Ressa to say that. The SEC decision is not an attack on the press. Maybe she has trusted her lawyers more than she should, but no one is exempted from complying with the Constitution,” Roque added.
Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo criticized the SEC ruling.
“If there are violations [made by Rappler], is it the only entity which committed such violation? Or they are just being isolated with such punishment? Dissent is important in a democracy. We can’t punish anyone based on dissent. If there are violations, then due process must be followed,” Robredo added.