MANILA, Philippines (Eagle News) — Justice Secretary Vitaliano Agirre II said that Rappler should welcome the probe that will be conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation.
The justice secretary said that by welcoming the probe, the online news website will be able to defend and prove its innocence on the alleged violation of the Constitution and other laws.
“Rappler should welcome this investigation so that it will have the chance to prove the innocence it claims to have,” he said.
The statement was made after Rappler issued a statement accusing the Department of Justice of trying to “kill” press freedom with its order for NBI to investigate the online news site.
“This is a fishing expedition, and pure and simple harassment. We thought this was supposed to be in relation to PDRs (Philippine Depositary Receipts) and the alleged violation of the Constitution. It’s all the more clear and blatant what government’s agenda is: they’re deadset to get Rappler and kill press freedom,” Rappler claimed.
For his part, Aguirre said that they never intended to interfere nor violate press freedom, but were only taking necessary actions on the issue.
“The statement of Rappler is clearly unfounded and most unfair to the good men and women of the NBI and of the DOJ as a whole,” he said in a statement.
“We want to emphasize that your DOJ respects freedom of the press. However, to borrow the words of the National Press Club, responsible journalism means compliance with the law. When the Constitution or any law has been violated by Rappler, necessarily the DOJ will be involved in its investigation, otherwise the DOJ will be remiss in its duties,” he added.
On Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission revoked the registration of Rappler for allegedly violating the constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership.
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