Maria Ressa posts bail

ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/02/14/20190214-maria-ressa-bail-rtr-1.jpg"/><figcaption>Maria Ressa, the CEO of online news platform Rappler, speaks to the media after posting bail at a Manila Regional Trial Court in Manila City, Philippines, February 14, 2019. <em>Eloisa Lopez, Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA- Rappler chief Maria Ressa, whose news site has clashed with President Rodrigo Duterte, walked out of overnight detention on Thursday after posting bail of P100,000 for cyber libel, a charge that press freedom advocates branded an act of &quot;persecution.&quot;</p><p>Ressa, who was named a <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/11/18/rappler-chief-maria-ressa-among-times-2018-person-of-the-year">Time Magazine &quot;Person of the Year&quot;</a> in 2018 for her journalism, was arrested Wednesday over a 2012 Rappler article which its subject, businessman Wilfredo Keng, claimed was &quot;clearly defamatory.&quot; </p><p>A Pasay court earlier refused to accept the veteran journalist&#x27;s bail, forcing Ressa to <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/14/19/i-shouldnt-be-detained-maria-ressa-calls-on-govt-to-observe-rule-of-law">spend the night </a>at the National Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Manila. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Rappler chief Maria Ressa stressed that her arrest is an &quot;abuse of power and weaponization of the law&quot; and appealed to her fellow journalists not to be silent &quot;even if you&#x27;re next.&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ANCRecap?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ANCRecap</a> <a href="https://t.co/FbOuY5rKVX">pic.twitter.com/FbOuY5rKVX</a></p>— ABS-CBN News Channel (@ANCALERTS) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANCALERTS/status/1095903890124374016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2019</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>Ressa said her ordeal was an example of the government&#x27;s &quot;abuse of power and weaponization of the law.&quot;</p><p>&quot;This is not just about me, and it is not just about Rappler. The message the government is sending is very clear and someone actually told our reporter this: be silent,&quot; she told reporters after posting bail. </p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m saying and appealing to you not to be silent, even if and especially if you&#x27;re next,&quot; she added.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/14/19/freed-on-bail-maria-ressa-rallies-journalists-to-hold-the-line">READ: Freed on bail, Maria Ressa rallies journalists to hold the line</a></li></ul><p>The bail for Ressa&#x27;s temporary freedom was set at P100,000, based on an order for her release seen by ABS-CBN News. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Maria Ressa’s release order. She was made to post bail at P100,000 | via <a href="https://twitter.com/Nikobaua?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Nikobaua</a> <a href="https://t.co/7iscaZAif8">pic.twitter.com/7iscaZAif8</a></p>— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews/status/1095904489989492736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2019</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>Ressa&#x27;s camp will file a motion to quash the cyber libel case, said her lawyer JJ Disini. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/14/19/cyber-libel-case-vs-rappler-riddled-with-deficiencies-ressa-lawyer">Cyber libel case vs Rappler riddled with &#x27;deficiencies&#x27;: Ressa lawyer</a></li></ul><p>Ressa&#x27;s arrest came after Duterte cracked down on high-profile critics in the press and legislature who opposed his signature anti-drug campaign that left thousands dead. </p><p>The cyber libel case against Ressa and former Rappler reporter Reynaldo Santos, Jr. meanwhile stemmed from a report about businessman Keng&#x27;s alleged ties to the late ousted Chief Justice Renato Corona. </p><p>While investigators initially dismissed Keng&#x27;s 2017 complaint about the article, the case was subsequently forwarded to prosecutors for their consideration. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/14/19/ressas-libel-accuser-no-one-is-above-the-law">Ressa&#x27;s libel accuser: &#x27;No one is above the law&#x27;</a></li></ul><div><strong>PRESS ORGANIZATIONS SLAM ARREST</strong> </div><p>Journalists condemned Ressa&#x27;s arrest, calling it an effort to silence critics. </p><p>&quot;The arrest of ... Ressa on the clearly manipulated charge of cyber libel is a shameless act of persecution by a bully government,&quot; said the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. </p><p>&quot;The government ... now proves it will go to ridiculous lengths to forcibly silence critical media,&quot; it added.</p><p>Amnesty International also swiftly condemned the arrest as &quot;brazenly politically motivated.&quot;</p><p>&quot;In a country where justice takes years to obtain, we see the charges against her being railroaded,&quot; the group said in a statement.</p><p>A United Nations spokesperson told reporters in New York they were trying to get &quot;a bit more detail&quot; about Ressa&#x27;s arrest but said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres &quot;has always stood strong for freedom of the press and for governments to allow journalists to do their work in a way that is unharassed.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/14/19/amanpour-albright-international-groups-hit-maria-ressa-arrest">Amanpour, Albright, international groups hit Maria Ressa arrest</a></li></ul><p>The Philippines <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/26/18/growing-animosity-vs-journos-ph-slips-in-2018-world-press-freedom-index">tumbled 6 places</a> last year in Reporters Without Borders&#x27; press freedom index to 133rd out of 180, with the body noting that government has pressured and silenced critics. </p><p>Duterte has lashed out at other critical media outfits, including newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer and ABS-CBN. He had threatened to go after their owners over alleged unpaid taxes or block the network&#x27;s franchise renewal application.</p><p>Some of the drug crackdown&#x27;s highest-profile detractors have wound up behind bars, including Senator Leila de Lima, who was jailed on drug charges she insists were fabricated to silence her.</p><p>Another administration critic, Maria Lourdes Sereno, was removed as chief justice in May last year based on a petition filed by Duterte&#x27;s chief lawyer, Solicitor General Jose Calida. </p><p>Ressa has asserted that Rappler is not anti-Duterte, saying it is just doing its job to hold the government to account.</p><div><strong>PALACE: RESSA CASE NOT TIED TO PRESS FREEDOM </strong></div><p>The law that forms the foundation of the case against Ressa takes aim at various online offenses, including computer fraud and hacking.</p><p>Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the case has nothing to do with Ressa&#x27;s work as a journalist.</p><p>&quot;This has nothing to do with freedom of expression or the press,&quot; he told ABS-CBN News. &quot;Regardless of who commits any crime, he or she will be charged in accordance with the law.&quot; </p><p>Rappler was also charged with tax evasion.</p><p>In the tax case, the government accused Rappler Holdings Corp., Ressa and the site&#x27;s accountant of failing to pay taxes on 2015 bond sales that it alleged netted gains of P162.5 million. </p><p>Its incorporation certificate was also revoked last year for allegedly violating the constitutional restriction on foreign ownership of mass media.</p><div><strong>- With a report from Agence France-Presse </strong></div><div> </div>

<p>MANILA- Rappler chief Maria Ressa, whose news site has clashed with President Rodrigo Duterte, walked out of overnight detention on Thursday after posting bail of P100,000 for cyber libel, a charge that press freedom advocates branded an act of "persecution."</p>

MANILA- Rappler chief Maria Ressa, whose news site has clashed with President Rodrigo Duterte, walked out of overnight detention on Thursday after posting bail of P100,000 for cyber libel, a charge that press freedom advocates branded an act of "persecution."

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Maria Ressa posts bail

Maria Ressa posts bail

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 14, 2019 12:14 PM PHT

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Updated Feb 14, 2019 02:25 PM PHT

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politics

press freedom

Rappler

Maria Ressa

cyber libel

bail

Rodrigo Duterte

journalism

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