The Philippines: CFWIJ welcomes the dismissal of the libel charge against Maria Ressa
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August 12, 2021, Manila - The court decided to drop another libel charge against Maria Ressa. This is the second libel charge against the journalist being dropped in two months. The case concerned the alleged corruption at a leading university - De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, regarding which the university itself decided to open an investigation. The case was particularly baffling because Ressa herself was neither involved in the research nor in the publication of the piece that made the allegations.
The article regarding De La Salle-College was investigated and published by Rappler reporter Rambo Talabong. Ressa has excused herself from working on the piece as she was member of the board of Trustees for the university, a fact she had revealed to the editorial team in the interest of professional transparency. After a hearing on August 10, the court dismissed the case “with prejudice”, which means that the complainant cannot find another case with regards to the report published in the Rappler. The complainant, Mr. Pineda also expressed no desire to continue with legal proceedings.
On June 1, a defamation case filed by businessman Wilfredo Keng was also dismissed in open court. However, Maria is currently facing seven other charges in the court of tax appeals, the Pasig City regional trial court, and the Manila regional trial court. They are as following:
1. Appeal in process is in the process for the June 2020 conviction of Maria Ressa in the Court of Appeals. The lower courts’ verdict was based on a complaint filed by Wilfredo Keng.
2. Four cases of consolidated tax against Maria and Rappler Holdings Corporation (RHC) in the Court of Tax Appeals.
3. Tax evasion case against Maria and RHC at the Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch.
4. The Bureau of Internal Revenue is investigating Rappler incorporation and Rappler Holdings Corporation for alleged tax evasion.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the dismissal of the libel charges against Ressa. We hope that other cases will follow suit. Such libel cases targeting journalists are often politically motivated and exist to legally harass a journalist into silence. Ressa has proved time and again that she will not back off due to these intimidation tactics. CFWIJ is proud to stand by Ressa in this struggle for freer press.
You can visit our in-focus page for a more comprehensive history of the charges faced by Maria Ressa. We have also curated a timeline that presents the facts and history of all threats and intimidations against the journalist.
