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Maria Ressa arrested at airport, slams 'travesty of justice'

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/reuters/03/29/20190329-maria-ressa-arrest-naia-rtr-3.jpg"/><figcaption>Maria Ressa, head of Philippine news website Rappler, is seen with police upon arrival at Manila airport on Friday March 29, 2019 in this handout photo. <em>Leanne Jazul, Rappler/Handout via Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA - Rappler chief Maria Ressa was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, early Friday, a day after a court issued an arrest warrant in connection with her alleged violation of the Anti-Dummy Law.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">BREAKING: Rappler CEO Maria Ressa served arrest warrant at NAIA. Video from Raoul Esperas <a href="https://t.co/yKHstfFGfW">pic.twitter.com/yKHstfFGfW</a></p>— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews/status/1111403647382904832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2019</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>Two female police officials served the warrant to Ressa after she landed at the country&#x27;s main gateway at around 7 a.m.</p><p>&quot;Will they actually arrest me again?! @rapplerdotcom this is insane. Such violations of the Bill of Rights and the PH Constitution,&quot; Ressa said in a tweet shortly after she was confronted by the police.</p><p>Ressa also posted a photo of her riding a vehicle while being transported to the Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 265.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Seriously?!?! Imagine the tax pesos wasted. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HOLDTHELINE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HOLDTHELINE</a> <a href="https://t.co/Vwh9tT8LLD">pic.twitter.com/Vwh9tT8LLD</a></p>— Maria Ressa (@mariaressa) <a href="https://twitter.com/mariaressa/status/1111403099401277446?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2019</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>The same court issued the warrant, Thursday, a day before Ressa returned from her San Francisco trip.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s kind of interesting, I have 9 policemen escorting me along with my trusty lawyer,&quot; Ressa told ANC&#x27;s Early Edition.</p><p>&quot;This is a travesty of justice. I have done nothing wrong. I am not a criminal. I am treated like a criminal,&quot; she said.</p><p>The case stemmed from a National Bureau of Investigation complaint related to the issuance of Philippine Depositary Receipts to Omidyar Network, an Indonesian company that invested in the online news website.</p><div><script src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;version=v2.5" async="" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div class="fb-post" data-href=" https://www.facebook.com/abscbnNEWS/videos/445516799525271/" data-width="auto"> </div><p>&quot;Coming home to confront yet another ridiculous criminal case. I didn’t expect the PH government to make my joke about collecting arrest warrants a reality. This will be my 7th. For being a journalist. All these acts violating the Bill of Rights will be remembered,&quot; the Rappler chief said in tweet before flying back to Manila.</p><p>Under the Constitution, media entities in the Philippines must be 100 percent Filipino-owned.</p><p>Rappler belied the allegations that it was being controlled by a foreign entity, but the Court of Appeals ruled earlier this month that the news website was not fully-owned by Filipinos.</p><p>&quot;The grant of control to a foreign entity over a mass media entity, regardless of the actual exercise of such foreign control, is already considered a violation,&quot; the court said in its ruling.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/11/19/ca-maintains-rappler-not-fully-filipino-owned">CA maintains Rappler not fully Filipino owned</a></li></ul><p>Ressa is facing at least 9 other cases including libel, cyber libel and multiple counts of tax evasion.</p><p>The libel complaint was filed in connection with several Rappler reports that exposed a supposed labor conflict within the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in 2017.</p><p>Ressa is also facing cyber libel charges over a Rappler article that claimed that businessman Wilfredo Keng&#x27;s luxury vehicle was used by former Chief Justice Renato Corona during the impeachment proceedings against him.</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 accuser: No one is above the law</a></li></ul><p>Ressa assured she would not run from any of the cases lodged against her and her news company.</p><p>&quot;I will not run away from any of this charges because I want to mark every single action the Philippine government takes,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;It shows you how intolerant of journalists this government is. This is another press freedom issue,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;We draw the line. If that line is crossed, we are no longer a democracy,&quot; she added,</p><div><em><strong>Editor&#x27;s note: </strong>An earlier version of this story mentioned that Ressa was arrested Friday over a tax evasion case. We regret the error.</em><br/> </div>

<p>Rappler chief Maria Ressa was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, early Friday, a day after a court issued an arrest warrant in connection with her alleged violation of the Anti-Dummy Law.</p>

Rappler chief Maria Ressa was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, early Friday, a day after a court issued an arrest warrant in connection with her alleged violation of the Anti-Dummy Law.