Ressa pleads ‘not guilty’ in 5th tax evasion case

Philippine journalist Maria Ressa waves to members of the media after attending a court hearing in Manila on July 22, 2020, on charges of tax evasion. Photo by Maria TAN / AFP

Rappler CEO and executive editor Maria Ressa on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to a fifth tax evasion case filed in 2018 for the news site’s supposed failure to pay taxes from the sale of Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) three years earlier.

The multiawarded journalist also questioned the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request to include Rappler Holdings, Corp. in the charge sheet minutes before her arraignment started at the Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 157.

Cyberlibel

Ressa was convicted of cyberlibel last month in what was widely criticized as an attack on press freedom. Aside from the tax evasion case, she and her online news site are facing several other cases.

“These charges are politically motivated [and are] meant to harass [and] intimidate [us in] a war of attrition to make us afraid to keep reporting. The best response to it is to keep reporting,” Ressa said.

She slammed the timing of the DOJ move, noting that the original case accusing her of failing to pay P294,258.58 in value-added tax following the 2015 sale of the PDRs was filed nearly two years ago. “The case was filed on Oct. 2, 2018. I was the only accused,” Ressa said. “Just minutes before the arraignment, the DOJ asked to amend the charge sheet and include the company … If there’s no better example of how personally I’m being targeted, there you go. They forgot the company and they added it two years later,” she said.Ressa added: “This shows two things: The charge sheet for the criminal charge for the five tax evasion charges was written in such a hasty manner that they forgot the company and included [only] the target individual. I can only laugh but we will fight [this],” she said.

Motion denied

The Court of Tax Appeals earlier denied Ressa’s motion to quash the information and admitted the inclusion of Rappler Holdings Corp., the holding company of Rappler Inc.

“This is a little bit strange, this court has not moved in two years. An arrest was filed against me, I posted bail. My travel bond in this court alone is P1 million,” she said.

After the arraignment, Ressa warned that the recent nonrenewal of the franchise of broadcast network ABS-CBN “is a cautionary tale” that happened “just like that because President Duterte says so, and because we have a captured legislature … What happened to ABS-CBN can happen to all of us.”Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque immediately chided Ressa, saying she was “playing the victim card” by discussing ABS-CBN after her court appearance.

“There is certainly no truth to Ms. Ressa’s allegation. The press can keep on reporting as long as there is no violation. [It] has the right to continue its operations,” Roque said.

Rights groups and press advocates describe as “state harassment” the charges against Ressa and Rappler, as well as the government move to strip the news site of its license.

Earlier this month, President Duterte signed an antiterrorism law that many fear will be used to silence dissent and threaten press freedom.