MANILA - A Philippine court has ordered the country's corporate regulator to restore the license of Rappler, a media firm led by Nobel laureate Maria Ressa who reported on former President Rodrigo Duterte's campaign against illegal drugs.

The Court of Appeals, in a decision dated July 23 that was seen by Reuters on Friday, had voided orders and decisions of the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to shut down the online news site.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The SEC in 2018 rescinded the operating licence of Rappler for violating foreign equity restrictions on domestic media when it sold depositary rights to a foreign entity. The decision was upheld in 2022.

The appellate court said the SEC "acted with grave abuse of discretion" in revoking Rappler's certificate of incorporation.

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Rappler had previously argued the Omidyar Network, the philanthropic arm of EBay founder Pierre Omidyar, was a silent investor. Omidyar cut ties by donating the depository receipts to Rappler's staff.

Rappler was founded by Ressa, won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize along with Russian investigative journalist Dmitry Muratov in a decision widely seen as an endorsement of free speech rights that had come under fire worldwide.

Ressa is currently on bail after being convicted in 2020 in a cyber libel case. She has appealed the decision to the country's top court.