Senate bets condemn 'blatant attack' on press amid Ressa arrest
MANILA, Philippines — Senatorial candidates from opposition coalition "Otso Diretso" have expressed condemnation against the arrest of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa.
Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation arrested Ressa Wednesday evening for a cyber libel charge over an article published in 2012.
Lawyer Chel Diokno, Rep. Gary Alejano (Magdalo Party-list), former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay and former Rep. Erin Tañada (Quezon) branded the arrest as a blatant attack against freedom of the press.
"We believe that if someone is guilty, there should be a punishment. But in this case, this is a blatant attack not only against the free press, but also the whole justice system in the country," Diokno said in a statement.
Diokno said that the Duterte administration has been going after its critics since it assumed office.
"You are not even satisfied with your army of trolls, now you want to take over cyberspace," he added.
RELATED: Press freedom not under attack, former journalist Jiggy Manicad says
'No legal basis'
Alejano, meanwhile, warned that attacks against journalists are a sign of weakening democracy.
"One thing cannot be considered a crime if it does not have legal basis. Our Constitution and its laws are clear," Alejano said in a statement.
Tañada agreed that Ressa's arrest does not have basis and only proves that the Duterte government has "no space for a free press."
"There is no basis for her arrest because the crime she is accused to have committed was not a crime because there was no [Anti-Cybercrime] law at the time. When there is no law, there is no crime," Tañada said.
Ressa was arrested over an article published May 29, 2012, four months before the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 was signed into law. Ressa's camp has been arguing that they could not be charged with cyber libel as the law was not yet in effect when the article was published.
State prosecutors, however, argued that an update on the story on Feb. 19, 2014 places it under the "multiple publication rule." Rappler has said the update was to correct a typographical error.
Hilbay, meanwhile, lamented how corrupt politicians have not yet been arrested.
"Those who truly stole from the country are not being arrested because they are too old. The bail being asked is too small compared to the amount they stole," Hilbay said, referring to Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos, widow of ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
In November, anti-graft court Sandiganbayan found the former first lady guilty of seven counts of graft. The Marcos widow was allowed to post bail for P150,000 while seeking post-conviction remedies.
As of Thursday morning, Ressa's legal counsel JJ Disini is processing her bail at Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46. Her lawyer said he is confident the Rappler CEO will be released within the day.
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Palace answers questions on barring of Rappler reporter Pia Ranada from entering Malacañan New Executive Building to cover. It was later clarified that Ranada is allowed to enter the New Executive Building but not Malacañan, where the president's events are held.
Philippine Nobel laureate Maria Ressa was acquitted Tuesday of her final tax evasion charge, in the latest legal victory for the veteran journalist as she battles to stay out of prison.
Ressa, 59, smiled as the judge delivered the verdict in the years-long case, an AFP journalist inside the court room said.
Philippine Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa and her online media company Rappler were on Wednesday acquitted of all four charges of tax evasion filed against her, a court says.
Ressa, who won the Nobel along with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov in 2021, still faces three other criminal cases, including a cyber libel conviction now under appeal that could mean nearly seven years in prison.
"Today, facts win. Truth wins," a defiant Ressa told reporters outside the Manila courtroom shortly after the court ruled on government charges that she and Rappler dodged taxes in a 2015 bond sale to foreign investors.
"These charges were politically motivated," Ressa said Wednesday. "We were able to prove that Rappler is not a tax evader." — AFP
The Court of Appeals has stood firm in its ruling that earlier denied the appeal of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa and former researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr. to overturn a Manila court’s conviction of cyber libel against them.
“Wherefore, the motion for reconsideration is denied,” the CA’s Fourth Division says in a ruling promulgated October 10.
Ressa and Santos sought for the reconsideration of the same CA court decision dated July 7, 2022 that affirmed the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46’s ruling that found them guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of cyber libel.
State-run Philippine News Agency reports that the Court of Appeals has junked the appeal of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa and its former researcher Reynaldo Santos to overturn the cyber libel conviction rendered by a Manila court in June 2020.
Independent news site Bulatlat.com condemns the SEC ruling that upheld its 2018 decision to shutdown of news company Rappler Inc.
In a statement, it says: "It is alarming how laws are weaponized to muzzle independent media. Administrative orders and other regulatory powers of government, such as franchise in the case of ABS-CBN, should not be used to trample upon press freedom and free expression."
Bulatlat, whose website has been blocked by the NTC following NSA Esperon's request, calls on fellow journalists "to resist the attacks, and unite in defending and upholding press freedom and the public's right to know."
Below is Bulatlat's statement condemning the SEC shutdown order vs. Rappler. pic.twitter.com/gJhuerHhfp
— Bulatlat (@bulatlat) June 29, 2022
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