NextGen Day

MANILA, Philippines — On Tuesday, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to respond to a petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida challenging the poll body’s memorandum of arrangement (MOA) with online news outlet Rappler Inc.

“During today’s proceedings, the Court En Banc ordered the respondents to provide their separate views on the petition and application for a TRO (temporary restraining order) within a non-extendable period of 10 days from receipt of the ruling,” SC spokesperson Brian Hosaka told reporters.

Respondents should submit their opinions to the Court via personal service, according to Hosaka.

According to the office of Commissioner Socorro Inting, who was the poll body’s acting chair when state attorneys petitioned the tribunal to annul the MOA on March 7, citing the online media outlet’s foreign funding, the Comelec has deferred the agreement.

Rappler will deploy “fact-checkers” in the run-up to the May 9 national and local elections, according to the MOA.

The MOA, according to Calida, is “invalid for violating the Constitution and other laws, not to mention being burdensome to the Government and the Republic.”

The Comelec was earlier advised by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to revoke the MOA within five days, or until March 4, 2022.

“The immediacy of the situation and the transcendental importance of the issues affecting matters of public interest,” Calida added, a TRO was sought.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked Rappler’s certificates of incorporation in 2018 and upheld it last year, according to the SolGen.

Even if Rappler were considered as an existing corporation, the SolGen stated, “It’s a foreign mass media company run by an American person, with operations funded and/or controlled by foreign companies like Omidyar Network Fund L.L.C.”

“According to the OSG petition, the MOA violates the constitutional and statutory prohibition against foreign influence in the country’s elections principally because of this fact.

The Solgen claimed that the Comelec essentially “co-shared” its power to decide on all election-related questions with Rappler, which he described as “a clear usurpation of its sole power to decide on such questions under Section 2 (3), Article IX-C of the Constitution,” which states that the Comelec has “sole power to decide on such questions.” “Except for those involving the right to vote, the poll body will “decide all questions affecting elections, including the number and location of polling places, the appointment of election officials and inspectors, and voter registration.”

Part 1, paragraph 5 of the MOA gave Rappler sole power to assess what it deems “false, misleading, and harmful information” and to warn Comelec on any election-related posts on social media.

According to the petition, the power conferred by Comelec in favor of Rappler clearly constitutes a prior limitation on freedom of speech and expression.

Without effective and narrowly focused safeguards on the retrieval, use, and storage of such data, Rappler was given access to crucial information and confidential data of registered voters.

The MOA also gives Rappler unrestricted access to “data of untransmitted votes to all canvassing centers due to reduction of threshold, and other technical concerns in the Automated Elections System,” without specifying how the Comelec or Rappler will ensure the sanctity of the untransmitted ballots.

According to SolGen, there is an “endless chance” that “Rappler may be able to influence any electoral narrative that matches the foreign owners’ goal, which will not be in the best interests of the Filipino people.

Rappler is also accused of being involved in a number of criminal cases, including cybercrime, violation of the Anti-Dummy Law, violation of the Securities Regulation Code, and tax evasion, according to the SolGen.

Maria Ressa, Rappler’s president and chief operations officer, was previously convicted of cyber-libel, but the charge was eventually dropped.

Rappler’s authority to fact-check election-related posts by any citizen has been questioned by the National Press Club of the Philippines, citing its “spotty record when it comes to dissemination of truthful information, considering its record of gross bias in its reporting that resulted in its current legal woes.”

Calida stressed the importance of restraining Rappler because the election is only two months away.

“Every Filipino deserves and aspires to elections that are free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible.” However, if the Comelec is permitted to continue its void and unconstitutional relationship with Rappler, these constitutional goals will be impossible to achieve. The Rappler-Comelec Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) must be declared null and illegal, according to the petition.

“Rappler cannot operate as king, priest, and noble at the same time,” it continued, “forcibly feeding the Filipinos what it believes to be true.”

Save/Share this story with QR CODE

---

Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute endorsement of any specific technologies or methodologies and financial advice or endorsement of any specific products or services.

📩 Need to get in touch?

📩 Feel free to Contact NextGenDay.com for comments, suggestions, reviews, or anything else.

---

We appreciate your reading. 😊Simple Ways To Say Thanks & Support Us:
1.) ❤️GIVE A TIP. Send a small donation thru Paypal😊❤️
Your DONATION will be used to fund and maintain NEXTGENDAY.com
Subscribers in the Philippines can make donations to mobile number 0917 906 3081, thru GCash.
3.) 🛒 BUY or SIGN UP to our AFFILIATE PARTNERS.
4.) 👍 Give this news article a THUMBS UP, and Leave a Comment (at Least Five Words).

---

AFFILIATE PARTNERS

World Class Nutritional Supplements - Buy Highest Quality Products, Purest Most Healthy Ingredients, Direct to your Door! Up to 90% OFF.
Join LiveGood Today - A company created to satisfy the world's most demanding leaders and entrepreneurs, with the best compensation plan today.

---