Duterte: I don’t know businessman who filed case vs Maria Ressa

SAN JOSE DEL MONTE CITY, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday denied that he knows the businessman who filed a cyberlibel case against Rappler  Chief Executive Officer Maria Ressa.

Ressa was arrested on Wednesday inside the news agency’s office over a case filed by Wilfredo Keng, who was the subject of Rappler’s article titled “CJ using SUVs of a controversial businessman” published in 2012.

The CJ referred to in the story was then Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, who was undergoing an impeachment trial.

Keng had denied the allegation.

“Hindi ko kilala iyang si Keng (I do not know Keng). Frankly I do not know him or what prompted him to file a case,” Duterte told reporters at the sidelines of the campaign sortie of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan here in Bulacan.

Rappler has been critical of the Duterte administration.

Ressa was released on Thursday after posting bail. /gsg