Philippines court: Rappler wins appeal to overturn shutdown order

Philippine Nobel laureate Maria Ressa's news website Rappler won an appeal to restore its corporate licence after a court overturned a regulator's decision to shutter the media company.

The Court of Appeals, in a July 23 decision made public yesterday, had ruled the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) overstepped its authority in ordering Rappler's shutdown in 2018.

"Like a bull seeing red, the SEC ... plowed through law and jurisprudence to reach its mark – the death of Rappler," the court said in its ruling.

The SEC declined to comment, saying it has yet to receive a copy of the decision. Ressa had welcomed the decision, saying it was a "vindication after a tortuous eight years of harassment".

"Journalists are not the enemy," Ressa told a news conference hours after the ruling went public.

Rappler's operating licence was rescinded in 2018 for violating foreign equity restrictions on media firms when it sold depositary rights to a US-based company.