The news that "Rappler" was ordered to close is that Nobel Peace Prize winner and "Rappler" CEO Maria Ressa participated in the international conference of the American think tank "East-West Center" in Hawaii, the United States on June 28. Announced at the media conference. Hours later, the Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed the order and reiterated that, according to a 2019 ruling by the Court of Appeals, Rappler is a mass media and must be fully controlled by Filipinos. Rappler's issuance of depositary receipts to the Omidyar Network, owned by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, to give foreign entities control is unconstitutional.
In this regard, "Rappler" issued a statement saying that it is business as usual and believes that "it will not be implemented immediately without court approval", so the organization will continue to operate. However, from the photos taken by various media that banner design day at the headquarters of Rappler, it can be seen that the SEC's order to close business has affected the atmosphere of the office to some extent, and the atmosphere is depressed. Duterte's order to suspend business before leaving office is highly targeted The SEC’s decision to shut down Rappler was unacceptable to most of the media and progressives.
They believe that "Rappler" was targeted because of the strict supervision of the Duterte government in the past, and the government chose to make a shutdown order before leaving office, which is very meaningful and targeted. Rappler reporter Jules Guiang tweeted: "The Duterte administration has paved the way for the Marcos administration by cracking down on independent media. The media is not PR and it is not the enemy of the state. We put the facts Bring it to people and let them make an informed decision.” Renesas also called on the new Marcus government to cooperate with journalists. "We are here to help you and give the Philippines a better future. We are not your enemy," she said. Earlier, the National Telecommunications Commission of the Philippines on June 18 asked ISPs to block 28 websites including "Bulatlat" News Network and "Pinoy Weekly" on the grounds that these sites support and promote disinformation and terrorism.