Following the affirmation of the closure order of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Rappler on Wednesday, Malacañang only repeated what it said when other critical news sites were prevented to run their websites in the country.
Seek the help of the court, Presidential Spokesman Martin Andanar advised.
In a statement, Andanar said “let the law takes its course” and allow SEC to “perform its mandate.”
He added that “Rappler may avail of remedies accorded to it by law,” which was the same advice he gave to Bulatlat and Pinoy Weekly after their websites were included in the over 200 lists of websites to be blocked due to alleged links to the communists.
“The recent move of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to block certain websites is upon the request of the National Security Council in performance of its mandate,” Andanar explained.
The move against Rappler, known for being critical of the Duterte administration, was condemned by various critics and some government officials, including opposition torchbearer Senator Risa Hontiveros, who found it as a new way to threaten legitimate news organizations.
The attempt to shut down Rappler came two years after ABS-CBN also went off-air after the Congress refused to renew its franchise. On Monday, June 27, President Duterte admitted that he used his “presidential powers” in influencing the lawmakers.