Supreme Court closes SEC case against Rappler

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

The Supreme Court (SC) has effectively ended one of the most significant legal challenges against Rappler, ordering the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) appeal of its shutdown order against the digital news outlet closed and terminated.

In a resolution dated Jan. 20, 2026, the SC granted the Office of the Solicitor General’s (OSG) motion to withdraw its motion for extension dated Sept. 15, 2025.

The resolution was conveyed through a notice signed by Rumar Pasion, Deputy Clerk of the Third Division, on Feb. 25, 2026, and received by Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Office (ACCRALAW), Rappler’s counsel, on March 24.

The OSG’s withdrawn motion had sought to extend the period for the OSG, acting as the SEC’s counsel, to file a petition for review on certiorari.

Under Section 2, Rule 45 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, such a petition must be filed within 15 days from the parties’ receipt of the judgment, final order, resolution, or denial of a motion for reconsideration or new trial.

Had the SEC pursued the petition, it would have challenged the Court of Appeals’ (CA) order restoring Rappler and Rappler Holdings Corporation’s certificates of incorporation.

On Jan. 11, 2018, the SEC — acting under the administration of then-President Rodrigo Duterte — ordered Rappler’s shutdown, citing that Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) issued to its foreign investor, Omidyar Network, were unconstitutional.

PDRs are financial instruments that grant holders the economic benefits of a corporation’s shares without conferring stock ownership or voting rights.

In February 2018, Omidyar Network donated approximately USD 1.5 million worth of PDRs to Rappler’s Filipino staff.

Rappler challenged the shutdown order before the CA in 2018. The appellate court denied the challenge, ruling that the investment arrangement was “tantamount to some foreign control.”

However, the CA also ruled that Rappler be given reasonable time to correct parts of the deal, noting that the SEC had previously allowed PDRs to be issued by similar companies, including ABS-CBN, GMA, and Globe Telecom.

Because Omidyar had already donated the PDRs by that point, the CA’s 2018 ruling also directed the SEC to review the legal effects of the donation.

Despite that directive, the SEC on June 28, 2022 — one and a half days before the end of the Duterte administration — affirmed its 2018 order revoking Rappler’s certificates of incorporation.

Rappler filed a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, alleging that the SEC had committed grave abuse of discretion.

In 2024, the CA — in a ruling penned by Associate Justice Emily San Gaspar-Gito — found that it had not authorized the SEC to revoke Rappler’s certificates, but had only directed the commission to review whether the Omidyar donation had cured the legal defect.

The appellate court was unsparing in its assessment of the SEC’s conduct: “[T]he SEC En Banc’s ruling goes well beyond mere failure to understand the CA 12th Division’s ruling, it displays willful defiance that exceeds even the threshold of grave abuse of discretion.”

The CA denied the SEC’s motion for reconsideration for lack of merit on July 11, 2025, reiterating that the commission had ignored its 2018 directive to review the legal effects of the donation.