Roque: Rappler investor’s donation affirms SEC decision

MANILA, Philippines — The donation of Omidyar Network’s Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) to the Filipino managers of Rappler would not cure the news website’s violation of the Constitution, Malacañang said yesterday. 

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the move only strengthened the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to cancel the registration of Rappler because of its supposed violation of the constitutional provision limiting media ownership to Filipinos. 

“It strengthens the decision of the SEC because it is an acknowledgment that they violated the Philippine constitution no less and they’re hoping to rectify it. I doubt if that (donation) will cure it because it (PDRs) has already been declared as void,” Roque said.

“If they (Omidyar) want to assist Rappler, they must form a new corporation. The SEC cannot do anything about it because they’ve already decided and it’s now in the CA (Court of Appeals),” he said at a press briefing. 

In a statement, Rappler maintained that the donation was not an admission of wrongdoing. “Rappler has maintained that the government-recognized Philippine Depositary Receipts it issued to Omidyar did not go against the constitutional requirement of Filipino ownership of media entities.”

Last January, the SEC revoked Rappler’s registration, saying the website used a “deceptive scheme to circumvent the Constitution” by getting funds from Omidyar Network of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. The corporate regulator also voided the Omidyar PDRs, a financial instrument used by companies to get foreign investments.

SEC claimed one of the PDRs issued by Rappler effectively gave a veto power over its operations to a foreign company

The SEC ruling prompted President Duterte to order the banning of Rappler reporter Pia Ranada from Malacañang complex. While Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea claimed that Duterte was just implementing the SEC decision, Roque said Ranada was banned because the President no longer trusts her. 

Rappler maintained that PDRs do not indicate ownership and claimed that the SEC decision was meant to attack press freedom. 

On Wednesday, Omidyar announced that it has donated its PDR to 14 Filipino managers of Rappler to address the “unwarranted ruling” of the SEC. Omidyar partner Stephen King said the donation “completely eliminates the sole basis of the SEC ruling against Rappler.”

The news website, King said, should be allowed to continue operating unhindered now that the PDRs have been donated to its managers. 

Rappler said it would now be up to the government to prove that its decision is not politically motivated. 

But Roque said the remark only displayed Rappler’s “extreme arrogance.” 

“In the first place, the SEC doesn’t have anything to prove. As far as being politically motivated is concerned, I think everyone knows who the chair of SEC is, everyone knows who the appointing authority of the chairman and the commissioners of the SEC is or are and its just strange that all of a sudden, Rappler wants government to defend its position,” he said.

SEC chair Teresita Herbosa is an appointee of former president Benigno Aquino III.  

Roque said the SEC could no longer do anything about the decision because the matter has already been brought to the CA. 

“If at all, it’s the CA that could consider it but, as far as I know, no change in circumstance could affect an issue already brought to court unless it will render it moot. But the issue here is was there a violation of the constitution because of the PDR issued by Rappler?” the presidential spokesman said. 

“That’s an admission and we’re happy they admitted...Even Rappler now admits that they’re not victims of censorship, they’re not victims of infringement of press freedom. No less than their funder now admitted they are in violation of the Philippine constitution and took steps hoping that this will rectify it,” he added. 

Roque said Rappler is still barred from covering Malacañang even if Omidyar has already donated its PDRs to the media outlet’s managers.