Int’l media watchdog: Drop charges vs Ressa

‘LAW WEAPONIZED’ Rappler CEO Maria Ressa denounced the cyberlibel complaint as a new front of harassment intended to silence her news website. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — International media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ) has called on the Philippine government to release Rappler executive Maria Ressa and drop the charges filed against her.

“The Philippine government’s legal harassment of Rappler and Ressa has now reached a critical and alarming juncture,” CPJ senior Southeast Asia representative Shawn Crispin said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We call on Filipino authorities to immediately release Ressa, drop this spurious cyberlibel charge, and cease and desist this campaign of intimidation aimed at silencing Rappler,” Crispin added.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested Ressa on Wednesday at Rappler’s headquarters in Pasig City.

READ: Rappler’s Maria Ressa arrested for cyberlibel 

The Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier approved the filing of cyberlibel against Ressa in relation to a complaint filed by businessman Wilfredo Keng.

READ: DOJ allows filing of cyberlibel case vs Rappler’s Ressa, reporter 

The case stemmed from a Rappler article titled “CJ using SUVs of controversial businessman” published in 2012. The “CJ” being referred in the article was the late Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, who was under an impeachment trial at the time.

In that article published on May 29, 2012, Rappler cited “an intelligence report” that claimed Keng was “under surveillance by the National Security Council for alleged involvement in illegal activities, namely human trafficking and drug smuggling.”

Keng had requested Rappler to take down the article, but the online news site instead updated the story in 2014. The story was published on May 29, 2012, but the Cybercrime Act was only enacted into law on September 12, 2012 and took effect only on October 3, 2012.

In Keng’s complaint against Rappler, he said the article “contained malicious imputations of crimes, with bad intentions, purposely to malign, dishonor and discredit my character and good reputation.”

CPJ is an independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. /jpv