Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa on Wednesday vowed to fight an order to shut down her investigative news website Rappler in the Philippines, stressing its journalists would continue to "stand up for their rights" despite concerted state harassment.
The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked Rappler's certificate of incorporation on Tuesday for allegedly violating rules on the foreign ownership of media outlets.
"We continue to work," Ressa told an online press conference from Hawaii, where she is currently attending a conference. "It's business as usual. There's a process and we'll follow the legal process. We'll continue to stand up for our rights."
"It's like quicksand if you can't count on the rule of law," she added. "We're not going to voluntarily give up our rights. And we shouldn't. When you give up your rights, you're never going to get back."
Rappler reported extensively on outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-drug campaign, which has claimed over 7,000 lives since 2016. Duterte has often criticised Rappler's reporting and has even accused of it of spreading fake news.
Ressa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for her "efforts to safeguard freedom of expression" as Rappler's editor-in-chief since 2012.
Francis Lim, Rappler's lawyer, said the SEC decision could still be appealed and promised that the company would exhaust all available legal avenues, adding: "It's not the end of the world for us."
The decision was announced on the eve of the inauguration of the country's new president, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Marcos Jr's inauguration as president on Thursday has triggered concerns over press freedom and civil liberties in the Philippines, due to the widespread human rights abuses that took place during his father's 20-year rule.
