Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa walks out of the newsroom to go to the NBI headquarters in Manila (Photo by CATHRINE GONZALES / INQUIRER.net)
MANILA, Philippines — The arrest of Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa on Wednesday appears to be an action of “a bully government,” according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).
According to NUJP’s national directorate, this is also a part of the current administration’s obsession to pin down Rappler — a news website that has been critical of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
“The arrest of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa on the clearly manipulated charge of cyber libel is a shameless act of persecution by a bully government,” NUJP said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
“It is clear this is part of the administration’s obsession to shut Rappler down and intimidate the rest of the independent Philippine media into toeing the lines,” they added.
Ressa was arrested because of a cyberlibel complaint filed by businessman Wilfredo Keng, who was mentioned in a Rappler story titled “CJ using SUVs of a controversial businessman.”
“CJ” refers to then-Chief Justice Renato Corona, who was going through an impeachment trial in the Senate.
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The NUJP believes that the Department of Justice twisted the law when it charged Ressa with cyberlibel, even if the story involved was published before the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10175) was signed into law.
RA 10175 was enacted on Sept. 12, 2012. The story written by reporter Reynaldo Santos Jr. was first published on May 29, 2012 — although it was last updated on Feb. 19, 2014.
“It is clear that the Department of Justice perverted the law by charging Maria for an offense allegedly committed before it actually became an offense under the law,” NUJP explained. “This government, led by a man who has proven averse to criticism and dissent, now proves it will go to ridiculous lengths to forcibly silence a critical media and stifle free expression and thought.”
Despite the incident, NUJP said that this would not prevent news organizations in the Philippines from speaking out.
NUJP also pleaded to Filipinos to stand with reporters in the Philippines as a whole, to prevent the suppression of the freedom of expression.
“It may try its worst but we know it will fail, not for lack of trying but because, as it did during the Marcos dictatorship, independent Filipino journalists will never allow freedom of the press to be suppressed,” the union said. “We call on all freedom-loving Filipinos to stand with the independent Philipline press in defense of the rights not only of media but of the people. For in suppressing the press it is the people’s right to know that is trampled on.” /atm