MANILA, Philippines — The move of philanthropic investment company Omidyar Network to donate its Philippine Depositary Receipts to the Filipino managers of Rappler is an acknowledgment that it had violated the Constitution, the presidential mouthpiece claimed.
“Why would they donate their PDRs if all along they have been maintaining that they’re not in violation of the Constitution? This is a declaration against interest,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said in an interview on ANC’s “Headstart” Thursday.
He added that the donation is “an admission that they breached our Constitution and our existing laws.”
Omidyar donated its PDRs to 14 Filipino executives of the news company to “address the unwarranted ruling” made by the Securities and Exchange Commission to shut down Rappler for “violating the constitutional and statutory foreign equity restrictions in mass media.”
Omidyar, created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, said the SEC ruling is a clear attack not only on Rappler but also on independent journalism and press freedom in the Philippines.
READ: Omidyar donates PDRs to Rappler execs to address 'unwarranted' SEC ruling
Rappler welcomed the move, saying this proves that the news company is Filipino-owned and controlled.
Roque, moreover, echoed SEC chairperson Teresita Herbosa’s statement that Rappler can reorganize another corporation “any time” as long as it would be 100-percent Filipino owned.
“I think what they should do is to form a separate corporate entity without the Philippine Depository Receipts,” he said.
The presidential spokesperson also insisted that the SEC’s ruling was not politically-motivated.
“In the first place, the SEC does not 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 SEC chair and the commissioners of the SEC is,” Roque said.
Herbosa was an appointee of former president Benigno Aquino III.
The government’s move to revoke the registration of Rappler was heavily criticized, saying it is an attack on press freedom. The news company had filed a petition questioning the SEC shutdown order before the Court of Appeals.
Last week, President Rodrigo Duterte banned Rappler reporter Pia Ranada from entering Malacañang. Roque said that the decision stemmed from Rappler’s uncertain status as a Filipino corporation and its alleged propensity to spread the so-called “fake news.”
READ: Rappler tells Roque: Ban a clear case of intimidation