Stanley Buenafe Gajete • June 15, 2020
Rappler CEO Ressa found guilty of cyber-libel
MANILA, June 15- The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46 presided by Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa declared high-profile Philippine veteran journalist and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa and researcher-writer Reynaldo Santos Jr. guilty of cyber-libel on Monday.
Ressa and Santos could face from six months to six years in jail. The court also ordered the two to pay businessman Wilfredo Keng a total of 400,000 pesos in damages. The company Rappler, although charged in the suit, was exonerated.
"I have first hand knowledge of the abuse of my rights. The violation of my rights... Rappler has been under attack for 4 years and I think where we’re going, we know first hand where we’re going to be," Ressa said immediately after the verdict..
Businessman Wilfredo Keng had accused Maria Ressa and Rappler of discrediting his reputation in a May 2012 article that said he lent former chief justice Renato Corona his sports utility vehicle. The article also linked him to cases involving human trafficking and drug smuggling.
The court in its verdict said Rappler offered no proof to verify allegations against Keng. It added that the writer did not attempt to verify the claims of the “intelligence report” in the article and also did not publish a follow-up article to air Keng’s side.
The court also said freedom of the press cannot be used as a shield against this.
Ressa and her company Rappler also faced charges of tax fraud, violation of the anti-dummy law and the Securities Regulation Code among others.
She was arrested on June 13 last year and was released from detention after posting P100,000 bail.
The Manila court worked on Ressa’s case for eight months. It moved the verdict announcement to June 15 from the original date of April 3 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision can still be appealed against in the Court of Appeals.
Various groups have criticized the verdict, saying it confirms that press freedom in the country is under attack.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said this is a dark day not only for independent Philippine media but for all Filipinos.
"The verdict basically kills freedom of speech and of the press. But we will not be cowed. We will continue to stand our ground against all attempts to suppress our freedoms," NUJP said in a Facebook statement post.
Vice President Leni Robredo called it a “chilling development” in a statement on Facebook.
“We must remember that this is merely the latest instance of law being utilized to muzzle our free press. Silencing, harassing, and weaponizing law against the media sends a clear message to every dissenting voice: Keep quiet or you are next,” she said.
Albay Representative Edcel Lagman said press freedom received another devastating blow from what he called the “the improvident and barren conviction” of Ressa.
Lagman also argued that the law was retroactively applied even if its provisions do not provide for such.
“The purported cyber libel for which Ressa is charged with was allegedly published or committed in May 2012 but the case was filed in 2017 or only five years later. Verily, it has proscribed,” explained the solon.
Lagman said Article 90 of the Revised Penal Code states that cyber-libel has a one year prescription period, meaning the case should have been filed within a year of the alleged violation.
