Philippine Nobel peace laureate Maria Ressa and her online news site Rappler were cleared of tax evasion on Wednesday, with the journalist congratulating herself as soon as “the truth prevailed.”
Maria Ressa, co-winner of the prestigious 2021 Nobel Peace Prize with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, faces three other criminal cases, including a cybercrime conviction, currently on appeal, for which she faces nearly seven years in prison.
“Today the facts prevail. The truth prevails,” Maria Ressa defiantly told reporters after the Manila Court of Appeals ruling.
The former CNN journalist and the site Rappler, which she co-founded, were accused of providing incorrect information on a tax return following a 2015 bond sale to foreign investors.
“Hope”
“These accusations were politically motivated,” Maria Ressa said Wednesday. “We were able to show that Rappler is not a tax evader.”
The journalist has been fighting for years to avoid jail. The lawsuits against him are emblematic of the harassment of the independent press in the country, according to human rights organizations.
Asked on Wednesday about the meaning of the decision of the Court of Appeals, Maria Ressa replied: “Hope. That is what it gives.”
Despite this sentence, the future of Rappler, who was born a decade ago, remains uncertain. He is still fighting a legal battle against an order from the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission.
The news outlet, which continues to operate, is accused of allowing outsiders to take over its website by issuing “certificates of deposit” through its parent company Rappler Holdings. However, under the Constitution, media investments are reserved for Filipinos or Filipino-controlled entities.
Source: BFM TV
