MANILA - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday night affirmed the administrative penalties slapped against Rappler, Inc. and Rappler Holdings Corp. (RHC), as well as the revocation of their Certificates of Incorporation. According to the latest SEC decision signed by SEC Chair Emilio B. Aquino and the four SEC commissioners, the commission upheld its Jan. 11, 2018 decision, declaring as void the Philippine Depository Receipts (PDRs) issued to American firm Omidyar Network (ON) by Rappler and RHC since this violated, among others, Section 71.2 of the Securities Regulation Code. PDRs are an investment instrument that allows domestic and foreign investors to place funds in a local firm. The SEC, in an earlier press release, said RHC sold 7,217,257 PDRs to Omidyar Network Fund LLC. On Feb. 28, 2018, ON announced that it has donated its PDRs to 14 Rappler managers. The latest SEC decision said "the Commission finds that the Donation did not cure the violation by Rappl
“Considering the seriousness and gravity of the infraction, and that it was no less than the Constitution that was violated, this Commission finds and so holds that the penalty of revocation, which was already meted out against Rappler and RHC in the SEC Decision, should be affirmed and sustained.”
It's a decision from February 2021 and a motion for reconsideration has already been filed. Lawyer Francis Lim says this is good because it allows Rappler ‘to really ventilate the issue.’