MANILA -- Malacañang on Wednesday said that it has given online news site Rappler “ample time” to avail of legal remedies in relation to its ownership issue at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) but still failed to address its problem.
The SEC earlier decided to shut down Rappler claiming it violated the Constitution’s restriction on foreign ownership of local media. Rappler has debunked this claim stating that it is indeed Filipino-owned.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that despite having enough time to address their issues, he claimed that Rappler “is more interested in spreading fake news.”
“We gave Rappler sufficient opportunity to rectify the infraction of ownership rules or obtain judicial relief, but instead of doing so it spent time and resources to foment false news and opted to twist the facts like it often does,” Roque said in a press statement.
Roque made this statement after Rappler reporter Pia Ranada, who covers Malacañang, was briefly barred from entering Malacañang’s New Executive Building (NEB) where press briefings are regularly held.
On Monday, Rappler released a statement in response to the accusation of Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go that it was peddling fake news.
Rappler earlier released a report on Go’s alleged intervention on the PHP18-billion Frigate Acquisition Project (FAP) of the Philippine Navy.
SEC decision not implemented at once
Roque said that under the Rules of Court, judgments and final orders of quasi-judicial agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are not stayed while on appeal with the Court of Appeals (CA), unless the CA directs otherwise.
“In Rappler’s case, no such directive from the CA has been issued,” Roque said noting that Malacañang did not implement the SEC decision at once.
Roque said Malacañang could have earlier disallowed Ranada from entering the premises when the SEC decision was released but allowed her to continue covering events.
“We could have earlier disallowed Rappler’s Palace beat reporter, Pia Ranada, from entering Malacanang when the SEC decision was handed down if our intent is to infringe press freedom. However, we allowed Ms. Ranada to continue performing her work assignments unimpeded, notwithstanding that trust with the news source had already been adversely affected, in the hope that this would be restored,” Roque said.
Moreover, Roque said that instead of addressing the issue and following the rules, the online news site peddled fake news.
“We likewise gave Rappler ample time to avail of legal remedies. However, it became apparent that Rappler is more interested in spreading fake news, and as yesterday’s incident demonstrated, it would rather sensationalize the issue of non-entry in Malacanang rather than comply with the rules,” Roque said.
Not an attack
Roque, meanwhile, maintained that Malacanang temporarily barring Ranada from entering Malacanang’s NEB was not an attack against press freedom.
“Let us be clear: The case of Rappler is not an attack on press freedom. Members of the media, including the Philippine Daily Inquirer, continue to be hard-hitting yet they can cover the activities of the President,” Roque said.
Roque stressed that Rappler could have avoided its current predicament if it had either obtained a temporary restraining order (TRO) at the CA or prove that it was indeed a Filipino-entity.
“Two things could have avoided Rappler’s present predicament: One, get a temporary restraining order. Two, be a Filipino corporation. Unfortunately, Rappler failed to obtain a TRO and failed to show that it is a Filipino entity,” Roque said.
“Peke na nga ang balita ng Rappler, peke pa rin ang pagiging Pilipino nila. Ayusin muna nila ang dalawang bagay na ito bago sila sumigaw ng kalayaan sa pamamahayag (They not only write fake news, they also pretend to be a Filipino entity. They should fix these two issues first before they demand for freedom of the press),” he added.
Roque said Ranada’s accreditation to access to Palace activities still lies on Rappler’s accreditation.
He meanwhile, urged Rappler to apply for accreditation at the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP), the media group for foreign correspondents, if it wants to have continued direct coverage of certain events inside and outside Malacañang.
Local-based media apply for accreditation as members of the Malacañang Press Corps (MPC).
MPC president and Bombo Radyo radio reporter Reymund Tinaza, however, maintained that fellow reporter Ranada, remains a member of the MPC pending Rappler’s appeal to stop the implementation of the SEC decision to shut them down.
“For now, ang status ngayon ni Pia ay miyembro pa rin siya ng MPC, unless meron ng final ruling sa Court of Appeals sa apela ng Rappler sa pag-revoke sa SEC sa kanilang registration (For now, Pia’s status is that she remains a member of the MPC unless the CA has a final ruling on Rappler’s appeal to stop the implementation of the SEC decision to revoke their registration),” Tinaza said in an interview over DZMM.
Tinaza maintained that the MPC remains an “independent” media organization composed of different media representatives that has a long history covering Philippine presidents.
He also said that the MPC reserved the right to accredit its own members.
“MPC reserves the right to accredit its own members. Hindi ito pinapakialaman ng Malacanang particular ng dating Office of the Press Secretary, na ngayon ay PCOO. So hindi sila nakikialam at hindi sila dapat makialam sa pag-accredit ng ating miyembro (Malacanang, particularly the Office of the Press Secretary, now known as the Presidential Communications Operations Office has not interfered and should not interfere when it comes to the accreditation of our members),” he added. (PNA)
