Negros media groups slam arrest of Maria Ressa

Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa. Photo by CATHRINE GONZALES / INQUIRER.net

CEBU CITY — The National Press Club in Negros Occidental has denounced the arrest of Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa for violating the law that was passed before the alleged offense was committed.

“This is a move to curtail press freedom,” said Renato “Boy” Duran, NPC-Negros president.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines Bacolod chapter (NUJP) also strongly denounced the arrest of Ressa.

“The arrest of Ressa is clearly a desperate move of the government to suppress the media and dissent,” NUJP Bacolod said in a statement.
The horrifying truth these days is that the government sees journalists as a threat, as efforts to silence the press continue to mount, it added.

“The problem with this administration is it doesn’t tolerate dissent. Critical reporting is viewed as a hostile action against the government,” NUJP Bacolod added.

The attack on Rappler is just one of the many threats hurled against the members of the press, who only report the truth so the public will know, the statement said.

“We don’t have the luxury to lose our freedom. We must fight, we must not be cowed,” NUJP Bacolod stressed./lzb