After being indicted for tax evasion and cyber libel, the executives of the online news outfit Rappler could be facing another criminal case: violating the Philippines’ anti-dummy laws.
This came after the Pasig City prosecutor’s office concluded its preliminary investigation on the complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation against Rappler last year.
Justice department officials said the case had been submitted for resolution.
But the details of the case were not made available so as not to preempt the coming decision of the investigating prosecutor whether to dismiss the NBI complaint or file a case in court.
The department had ordered the NBI to investigate the possible violations of Commonwealth Act No. 108, or the Anti-Dummy Law, after the foreign ownership of Rappler was discovered.
That law prohibits foreigners from intervening in any “nationalized activity” such as the operation of a media company, which should have 100-percent Filipino control under the 1987 Constitution. Violators could face imprisonment for five to 15 years.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has revoked the business registration of Rappler and Rappler Holdings Corp. due to the alleged violation of the constitutional ban on foreign ownership of media companies.
The SEC ruled that Rappler violated the constitutional restriction on ownership and control of mass media entities because of the funds coming from Omidyar Network, a fund created by eBay founder and entrepreneur Pierre Omidyar.
The agency revoked Rappler’s certificate of registration because of a clause in its Philippine Depositary Receipt agreement with foreign investor Omidyar Network that it must be consulted before changing the company’s articles of incorporation or by-laws.
Recently, the Court of Appeals affirmed with finality the SEC’s findings as it directed the agency to review the supervening donation by Omidyar of its shares to the staff of Rappler and determine whether such move cured or mitigated such constitutional violation.
Rappler CEO and executive editor Maria Ressa was arrested on Feb.13 by NBI agents on the order issued by the Manila regional trial court branch 46 over the cyber libel case filed by the Justice department on the complaint of businessman Wilfredo Keng.
She spent the night in the NBI headquarters in Manila after failing to post bail in the evening. But she was released the following day, Feb.14, after posting a P100,000 bail.
The Justice department found probable cause in the complaint filed by the NBI and Keng for violation of Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act in March last year.
Earlier, the department also indicted Rappler and its top executives for allegedly evading taxes worth P108.4 million.