New Delhi: A court in the Philippines on Tuesday acquitted investigative journalist and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa of the final tax evasion charge that had been filed against her.
“WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the accused Rappler Holdings Corporation and Maria A. Ressa are hereby ACQUITTED in Criminal Case No. R-PSG-18-02983-CR for violation of Section 255 of the 1997 National Internal Revenue Code, as amended, on the ground that they did not commit the offense charged in the Information. Meanwhile, the civil aspect of the case is DISMISSED,” Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 157, under Presiding Judge Ana Teresa Cornejo-Tomacruz, said.
Ressa had a smile on her face as the judge delivered the acquittal, said AFP news agency. “You gotta have faith,” she told reporters outside the courtroom.
“The acquittal now strengthens our resolve to continue with the justice system, to submit ourselves to the court despite the political harassment, despite the attack on press freedom,” she added.
Ressa, 59, who jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov in 2021, has found herself embroiled in multiple legal disputes that started during the tenure of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
A vocal critic of Duterte and his controversial anti-drug campaign, she has maintained that the charges against her and Rappler were politically motivated. A US citizen, she has chosen to remain based in the Philippines.
In a statement after Tuesday’s court verdict, Rappler said, “This is a victory not just for Rappler but for everyone who has kept the faith that a free and responsible press empowers communities and strengthens democracy.”
“We share this with our colleagues in the industry who have been besieged by relentless online attacks, unjust arrests and detentions, and red-tagging that have resulted in physical harm,” Rappler‘s statement continued. “We share this with Filipinos doing business for social good but who, like us, have suffered at the hands of oppressive governments.”
What were the charges?
Ressa and Rappler had been confronted with five government charges related to tax evasion stemming from the sale of Philippine depositary receipts in 2015, a financial instrument used by companies to raise funds from foreign investors.
In January, they were cleared of four charges by one court. The final charge was heard by a different court, which also exonerated Ressa from any wrongdoing.
This particular case, according to Rappler, “was filed two months after the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a closure order against Rappler based on the claim of the Duterte administration that the company is foreign-owned. Rappler is, however, a 100% Filipino-owned company – a point asserted by the newsroom in its appeal against the SEC order pending before the Court of Appeals (CA).”
Despite the acquittals, Ressa and Rappler still confront two additional legal battles.
Ressa and her former colleague, Rey Santos Jr., are currently appealing a cyber libel conviction that carries a nearly seven-year prison sentence. She is currently on bail, and requires court permission for international travel.
Rappler is challenging an order from the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission to shut down based on allegations of violating the ban on foreign ownership in media.
Ressa and Rappler’s legal troubles commenced in 2016 following Duterte’s election, during which he frequently attacked his critics.
Another prominent critic of Duterte, human rights campaigner Leila de Lima, has spent over six years in detention on drug trafficking charges that she says were fabricated to silence her.
With inputs from DW.
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