Rappler reporter barred from Malacanang

RAPPLER reporter Pia Ranada has been stripped of her privilege to enter and cover events held at the Malacañang.

Ranada, a member of the Malacañang Press Corps, was initially barred from entering the the New Executive Building (NEB) at the Palace grounds, where the press briefing room is located, on the morning of Tuesday, February 20.

She took to Facebook the alleged order from a “higher-up” to prevent her from entering the Malacañang premises.

“(Presidential Security Group member) Marc Anthony Cempron tells me there were instructions from `up there’ to bar me, specifically from entering Malacañang,” she said.

Minutes later, Ranada was able to enter NEB, after a clarification was issued that she is only barred from Malacañan Palace, where President Rodrigo Duterte’s activities are usually held.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) condemned the President for “displaying extreme pettiness in ordering the ban” on Ranada.

In a Facebook post, NUJP officials called on all journalists to “unite and reject this outrage and to continue resisting all attempts to dictate what we can and should report.”

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr., in a press conference, said he was unaware of the order to bar Ranada from the Palace and hinted that the decision may have been at PSG’s “discretion.”

Roque, however, gave assurance that Rappler can still cover Palace events while its appeal filed before the Court of Appeals (CA), seeking to reverse the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to revoke its registration, is still pending.

“But after the Court of Appeals decides and if the decision of SEC is sustained,

Rappler would have to transfer to FOCAP (Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines),” Roque added.

The SEC, in a January 11 decision, revoked Rappler’s certificate of incorporation for allegedly violating constitutional ownership and control of mass media entitites. On January 29, Rappler filed a petition before the CA to review the revocation of its certificate.

The Office of the Executive Secretary, in response to questions on Rappler, said the online news organization could still cover Malacañang “because they have a pending appeal.”

The ban on Ranada was imposed a day after Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go appeared before the Senate to shed light on allegations that he interfered in the controversial frigate deal.

It was Ranada, through online news site Rappler, who broke the story about Go’s purported interest in the selection of the supplier for the Philippine Navy warships’ combat management system. SunStar Philippines