Of the many things that Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said to justify the banning of Rappler and its reporter Pia Ranada in Malacañang premises, one thing stood out that reflected President Duterte ’s misunderstanding of the role of media in a democracy.
Roque said: “Nag-isyu na ang Presidente ng order na hindi pupuwede si Pia [sa Malacañang] (The President has issued the order that Pia is not allowed in Malacanang.),”
The reason?
Despite Malacañang’s denial, there is no doubt that the decision of the Securities and Exchange Commission to revoke Rappler’s registration as a media entity is a press freedom issue.
The SEC arguments seem solid for a non-lawyer like me but I wonder, had Rappler been supportive of Duterte, would the Office of the Solicitor General have filed a case questioning the ownership of Rappler?
On the other hand, even if Duterte hated Rappler, if SEC didn’t find anything amiss in their corporate makeup, would it have moved for the kill?
Journalist turned lawyer Romel R. Bagares posted this comment on Facebook which generated an informative discussion among his fellow lawyers, many of them advocates of free expression and are active in fighting the proliferation of fake news.