MANILA – Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa was arrested upon her arrival in the country from San Francisco City on early Friday in connection to her alleged violation of the Anti-Dummy Law.
Ressa was served with an arrest warrant by two policewomen at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at around 7 a.m. yesterday. She posted a P90,000 bail before Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 265 later in the day.
Ressa slammed the way she was arrested at NAIA as she was escorted by nine policemen. She also branded the fresh arrest warrant as part of the administration’s way to curb press freedom.
“It’s kind of interesting. I have nine policemen escorting me along with my trusty lawyer,” Ressa said in an interview with ABS CBN News Channel. “This is a travesty of justice. I have done nothing wrong. I am not a criminal. I am treated like a criminal.”
She added: “I will not run away from any of this charges because I want to mark every single action the Philippine government takes. It shows you how intolerant of journalists this government is. This is another press freedom issue.”
The case against Ressa stemmed from a National Bureau of Investigation complaint related to the issuance of Philippine Depositary Receipts to Omidyar Network, an Indonesian company that invested in the online news website.
The Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 265 issued the arrest warrant against Ressa, Rappler managing editor Glenda Gloria and 2016 board members Manuel Ayala, Nico Nolledo, James Bitanga, Felicia Atienza, and James Velasquez on Thursday.
Ressa was the only one arrested as she was out of the country while her co-defendants have already posted their P90,000 bail each days ahead of the arrest warrant release on Thursday.
“Coming home to confront yet another ridiculous criminal case. I didn’t expect the PH government to make my joke about collecting arrest warrants a reality. This will be my 7th,” Ressa said.
She added: “For being a journalist. All these acts violating the Bill of Rights will be remembered. We draw the line. If that line is crossed, we are no longer a democracy.”
Rappler repeatedly denied the allegations that it was being controlled by a foreign entity, but the Court of Appeals ruled earlier this month that the news website was not fully-owned by Filipinos.
Aside from the anti-dummy case, Ressa is facing at least nine other cases including libel, multiple counts of tax evasion and cyber libel, where she was arrested and bailed out earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Rappler, in a statement, said that the latest arrest warrant against them is concerning as it has a chilling effect on freedom of speech and it was also a clear abuse of state power and the bending of the law to intimidate and harass critics.
“Issuing arrest warrants against them and journalists has a chilling effect on the freedom of speech, on business, and innovation. Instead of encouraging business and media to pursue innovation, government is stifling such initiatives,” it said.
“This pattern of harassment against Rappler that started in January 2018, when the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order revoking its license, has not stopped,” the Rappler added.
“Now it casts a wider net to go beyond Maria Ressa and target other members of the Rappler board,” it further said. “Initiated by the justice department, this latest case proves abuse of state power but journalists doing their jobs will not be intimidated.”/PN
