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Rappler Indonesia to soldier on despite license revocation
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CEO of Rappler Maria A. Ressa speaks to the reporters on the revocation of Rappler's license to operate on Monday. (Rappler.com/File)
T
hough the license of its parent company has been revoked by the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), news portal Rappler Indonesia will continue operations.
Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa told The Jakarta Post that the decision would have no impact on the Indonesian bureau.
“It’s business as usual. We’ll fight this all the way to the Supreme Court,” she told the Post on Monday.
The SEC rescinded Rappler’s operating license on Monday, claiming that the news site had violated foreign equity restrictions on Philippine media. Rappler, which has been one of President Rodrigo Duterte’s most vocal critics, has denied the claims and plans to fight the decision.
However, SEC secretary Armando Pan has said the decision was not “not final and executory” and that Rappler could still operate pending appeal.
Indonesia’s Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) chairman Abdul Manan condemned the Philippines' revoking of the license of Rappler as an undemocratic move that restricts freedom of the press.
“We stand in solidarity with our good friends at Rappler and Rappler Indonesia,” he told the Post over the phone on Monday.
“If they can still fight the decision, we urge them to take it to the courts, but if not, it should not stop their fighting spirit. There are other avenues, such as starting a new media company.” (kmt)
