Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 14) — A Pasig City court sent back the anti-dummy law case against Rappler executives to the prosecutor’s office after finding that it violated their right to due process.

“The undue haste in transmittal of the records of the case to the court for the filing of information against the accused violates the accused’s right to due process, guaranteed under the Constitution,” Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 159 Presiding Judge Elma Rafallo-Lingan said in a nine-page order released to the media on Monday.

The court sided with Rappler executives, including its CEO Maria Ressa, who argued that their right to due process and their right to a full preliminary investigation when they were not given the chance to appeal the resolution of the Pasig City Office of the Prosecutor finding probable cause for them to be charged before the court.

“There is no denying that the resolution … was issued by the [prosecutor’s office] after office hours. The following day … the information was filed in court even if the other accused were not served a copy of the [prosecutor’s] resolution,” said the court.

It said the prosecutor’s office should conduct a full preliminary investigation on the case filed against the Rappler executives for their alleged violation of the Securities Regulation Code.

The court suspended its proceedings pending the completion of the prosecutor’s office preliminary investigation.

It also granted the motion of Ressa and Rappler Managing Editor Glenda Gloria to lower their bail bonds from ₱126,000 due to financial constraints.

Ressa and Gloria now only have to post ₱63,000 as bail. Ressa’s travel bond was also reduced from ₱110,000 to ₱50,000.

Aside from the two veteran journalists, Rappler’s 2016 board members Manuel Ayala, Nico Jose Nolledo, James Bitanga, Felicia Atienza and James Velasquez are also respondents to the case that stemmed from US-based Omidyar Network’s $1.5-million investment in Rappler.

The prosecution said Rappler's executives were charged for allowing a foreign company to intervene in the management and operation of Rappler Inc. and Rappler Holdings Corp. in violation of the Anti-Dummy Law. Only Filipino citizens can own media entities in the country.

Omidyar, owned by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, has since donated its investment to Rappler's 14 Filipino managers in a bid to resolve foreign ownership issues.

Rappler has maintained that its foreign investors have no control over the media outfit's operations. It has decried the legal challenges as harassment and a clampdown on the free press.

CNN Philippines Justice Correspondent Anjo Alimario contributed to this report.