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Regional press alliance condemns 'intimidation' of Philippine media

February 15, 2019 | 6:24pm

Regional press alliance condemns 'intimidation' of Philippine media

A student holds a placard during a protest at the state university grounds in Manila on February 14, 2019, in support of CEO of Rappler, Maria Ressa, who was arrested a day earlier for cyber libel case. Ressa was freed on bail on February 14 following an arrest that sparked international censure and allegations she is being targeted over her news site's criticism of President Rodrigo Duterte.

AFP / Ted Aljibe

MANILA, Philippines — Press groups from across Southeast Asia added their voices to the criticism of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa’s arrest over a cyberlibel charge that the government has said is a simple matter of enforcing the law.

In a statement on Friday, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance called on the government to drop the charge against Ressa and on President Rodrigo Duterte to “restore genuine press freedom in the Philippines.”

“We also firmly condemn the unabating intimidation of the press, specifically the segments thereof, such as Rappler, that refuse to be silenced by a government whose chief executive has repeatedly shown his contempt for the media,” the statement read.

READ: Global press group to Duterte: Stop weaponizing law to silence Rappler

National Bureau of Investigation agents went to Rappler’s office on late Wednesday afternoon to serve the arrest warrant against Ressa. This was when regular courts close, posting a difficulty for Ressa to find a court that would accept her bail—a point that the SEAPA raised.

The group added that the issues on the cyberlibel case “provide compelling proof that the rule of law has been wantonly violated by [Duterte] and his administration.”

The National Press Club, the country's biggest group of journalists, has disputed claims that Ressa's arrest is an attack on press freedom.

It said in a statement on Friday that "to inject something that is not there and thus politicize a strictly judicial process" between two private parties "does not and will not serve the end of justice."

It added: “Transforming this incident into a political circus in pursuit of vested political and ideological interests is to encourage everyone’s disrespect for the law and with it, to increase the risk of greater violence against the media.”

Other press groups, including the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, have condemned the arrest and the cases against Ressa and Rappler.

READ: A look at the cyber libel charge vs Rappler, Maria Ressa

Duterte: No hand in arrest

Duterte has distanced himself from Ressa’s arrest, saying that he does not know businessman Wilfredo Keng, who first filed the complaint against Ressa before the NBI. He said Thursday night that he had yet to read up on the case.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo also said that Ressa’s case has nothing to do with “freedom of expression,” asserting that Ressa is facing a legitimate case and would be given an opportunity to defend herself in court.

SEAPA argued that the case against Ressa showed “the shameful trend of the Philippine government wielding its power and employing heavy-handed tactics to silence media outlets whose reportage counters state-driven narratives, and courageously exposes malgovernance, calls to mind the gruelling plight of journalists elsewhere in the region."

It noted that Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were sentenced by a Myanmar court, while Radio Free Asia (RFA) Khmer Service journalists Uon Chin and Yeang Sothearin were detained on “espionage charges.”

They stressed that a free and independent press is crucial in maintaining checks and balance in governance. They added that critical and dissenting voices are part of a healthy and thriving democracy.

The following groups of journalists affixed their signature to the statement: