Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025

0:00
0:00

Philippines orders critical news site to shut down

Philippines authorities have again ordered the shutdown of an investigative news site founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa.
Rappler is one of the few Philippines media outlets critical of President Rodrigo Duterte's government.

The regulator's ruling comes just before Duterte leaves office and is succeeded by his ally Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who won election in May.

Rappler said it wouldn't be closing and would challenge the order in court.

"We will continue to work and to do business as usual," Ms Ressa told reporters on Wednesday. "We will follow the legal process and continue to stand up for our rights. We will hold the line."

She said the ruling had come after highly irregular proceedings, and that the site couldn't count on rule of law anymore.

The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement that a decision to revoke the company's licence to operate had been upheld following an appeal - because it and the courts had concluded that Rappler's funding model was unconstitutional.

The regulator first issued an order against Rappler in 2018, invalidating the news organisation's credentials because - it said - the company had sold control of itself to a foreign entity in breach of foreign ownership restrictions in Philippines media.

Rappler has been fighting the ruling ever since. It denies its US investor funding breaks the law.

In 2015 Rappler received funding by the Omiydar network - a philanthropic investment company set up by Pierre Omiydar, the billionaire founder of Ebay - but denied it ceded foreign control. Three years later it donated the investment to Filipino staff of Rappler to prove it had no controlling stake in the business.

Ms Ressa said on Wednesday the SEC's ruling was the latest blow in a six-year campaign from authorities in response to Rappler's hard-hitting reporting.

"We have been harassed, this is intimidation, these are political tactics and we refuse to succumb to them," she said.

Human Rights Watch said the "spurious" move from the SEC was an effort to "shut up Nobel laureate Maria Ressa, and shut down Rappler, by hook or by crook."

Rappler has published extensively on President Duterte's deadly war on drugs, as well as taking a critical look at issues of misogyny, human rights violations and corruption.

Ressa, who co-founded the site in 2012, faces at least seven criminal and civil cases which she says are politically challenged. She is appealing her conviction in 2020 for libel - a case seen as a test of Philippine press freedom.

She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year - along with a Russian journalist - for her journalistic work with Rappler. She was commended for using freedom of expression to "expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines".

The order against Rappler comes amid growing concerns about what the new Marcos government will be like.

Marcos Jr. is the son of the nation's former dictator who persecuted journalists, human rights activists and political opposition during his decades in power.

Activists have already raised concerns about media suppression and free speech.

Just this month, Philippines officials advised internet providers to block websites supporting left-wing activists.

Journalists critical of the government are also routinely abused in the country. Several whistle blower accounts have emerged of 'troll farms' set up to harass and intimidate journalists and political opponents

Reporters without Borders (RSF) ranks the Philippines 147 out of 180 countries on its Press Freedom Index, down 9 places from 2021.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
×