By Moira Encina
Eagle News Service
Rappler on Monday asked the Court of Appeals to nullify the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision revoking its corporate registration.
In a 68-page petition for review, Rappler Inc. alleged that their rights to due process were violated with the SEC’s move.
“Without an administrative action, surely, no administrative action, including the suspension or revocation of the corporation’s franchise, could have been imposed by the SEC,” Rappler said.
According to Rappler, because of the so-called absence of an administrative charge, they were “not provided with sufficient notice of the formal charge against them and the opportunity to be heard.”
Rappler also alleged that the SEC erred in revoking their certificate of registration because no constitutional violation on foreign restriction in mass media was committed in the first place.
It argued that the Omidyar Philippine Depository Receipts does not provide Omidyar with control, as argued by the SEC.
“At most, Clause 12.2.2 of the Omidyar PDR is in the nature of a negative covenant put into place to protect the interest of Omidyar, as investor,,” Rappler said.
It added that while it was the Philippines’ “first all-digital news organization,” Rappler was “not engaged in the business of ‘mass media’ as contemplated by Section 11 (1) of Article VI of the Constitution and cannot be held accountable under it.”
In revoking Rappler’s certificate of registration, the SEC said that the online news site “acted with deceit in a scheme to justify the grant of control and also financial returns, to foreign investors when they sold the Omidyar Network Philippine Depositary Receipts.”
The SEC cited the foreign equity restriction enshrined in the Philippine Constitution that bars any form of ownership or control by foreign entities of Philippine mass media.
“The foreign restriction is very clear. Anything less than one hundred percent (100%) Filipino control is a violation. Conversely, anything more than exactly zero percent (0%) foreign control is a violation,” the SEC said.