Rappler hopes that the new chairman and commissioners will deliberate on the matter with the impartiality, wisdom, and courage expected of an independent constitutional body.
The unilateral decision of Comelec Commissioner Socorro Inting to hold the implementation of our memorandum of agreement is regrettable.
It is unfortunate that Commissioner Inting, who signed off on this agreement as acting chairman less than two weeks ago, and who declared just a day ago that the commission would await the Supreme Court’s decision on the matter, has gone ahead and unilaterally given instructions to set our agreement aside.
It is equally lamentable that Rappler, as the other party to the agreement, was not officially informed about Commissioner Inting’s memorandum beforehand. Instead, the information and memo were leaked to a TV station associated with disinformation and online attacks on journalists and independent media. We have not received an official copy of the memorandum as of 10 pm on Tuesday, March 8, four hours after it was leaked.
Rappler maintains that the partnership agreement with the poll body stands on solid legal ground. It is no different from previous agreements that the Comelec has had with Rappler every election since 2013. The level of access it gives to Rappler is no different from those given to other legitimate media organizations, as Comelec itself pointed out.