The Court of Appeals (CA) on Friday announced that it has overturned a government order that would have shut down the news website Rappler, a vocal critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

In its statement, the CA said that it reversed a 2018 ruling by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that Rappler violated foreign ownership rules.

In its ruling issued on 23 July 2024, the CA “reversed and set aside” the SEC decision on the grounds that its order had been a “grave abuse of discretion.”

The court said it contravened “established procedures, jurisprudential and legal instructions, and clear intent of the Constitution.”

On 29 June 2018, the SEC shutdown order was issued the day before Duterte left office.