(Eagle News)—Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa and members of the board of the news outfit three years ago have been charged in court for alleged violation of the Anti-Dummy Law.
Apart from Ressa, charged before the Pasig Regional Trial Court were Manuel Ayala, James Bitanga, Nico Jose Nolledo, James Velasquez, and Felicia Atienza, all members of Rappler’s 2016 board.
Ayala, Nolledo, Gloria, Bitanga, Atienza and Velasquez have posted bail of P90,000 each.
Ressa is currently out of the country.
The information was filed after the Securities and Exchange Commission found Rappler guilty of violating the Anti-Dummy Law when it allowed “disqualified foreigners” from Omidyar Network to intervene in its operations via the Philippine Depositary Receipts the news outfit issued in 2015.
The SEC said Rappler violated the constitutional restriction on foreign ownership of mass media when it issued the PDRs, and ordered its incorporation papers revoked.
The Court of Appeals has denied Rappler’s appeal of the SEC decision, but ordered the commission to probe the effects of the subsequent donation by Omidyar of the PDRs to Rappler managers.