Makati RTC allows Ressa to travel to US

A Makati City court has allowed Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa to travel to the United States to visit her parents for the holidays. Judge Maria Amifaith Fider-Reyes of Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 147 granted the motion to travel filed by Ressa’s camp during a hearing on Tuesday. But Ressa still needs the approval of three other courts where she has pending cases. The Pasig RTC and Court of Tax Appeals handle two separate tax cases, while the Court of Appeals has yet to decide her cyberlibel conviction handed down by the Manila RTC in June. No bond was imposed by the Makati RTC for Maria Ressa’s travel abroad. —Dexter Cabalza