Filipino journalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa was acquitted on Monday September 11 in Manila of the last charge of tax evasion for which she was being prosecuted. Maria Ressa, 59, co-winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize with Russian Dmitri Muratov, smiled as the judge read the verdict, according to an Agence France-Presse journalist in the courtroom.
Maria Ressa faced numerous accusations under former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (2016-2022) whose bloody anti-drug policies she virulently criticized. Maria Ressa and Rappler, the online media outlet she founded, faced five tax evasion charges from the Duterte government after the 2015 sale of certificates of deposit, a way for companies to raise funds from foreign investors.
In January, a court acquitted her of the first four charges, and another court exonerated her on the fifth on Tuesday. Despite these legal victories, the future of Maria Ressa and Rappler remains uncertain, as they still face two more trials.
Maria Ressa and a former colleague, Rey Santos Jr, were found guilty in 2020 of “cyber libel.” The case, for which they face nearly seven years in prison, is currently being examined by the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Rappler, meanwhile, is challenging a shutdown order from the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly violating the ban on foreign ownership in media outlets.
Under the Constitution, investments in media are restricted to Filipino citizens or entities controlled by them. The lawsuits stem from a 2015 investment in Rappler by the philanthropic company Omidyar Network, created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.
Omidyar Network then transferred its investment in Rappler to local managers of the site in order to prevent any attempt at closure by the government. The legal troubles of Maria Ressa and Rappler began in 2016 with the election to the presidency of Mr. Duterte, accustomed to nauseating attacks against his opponents.
The media outlet and its founder have faced what press freedom advocates describe as a series of criminal prosecutions and arbitrary arrests and online harassment. The government of Rodrigo Duterte has claimed that it had nothing to do with the initiation of these legal proceedings.
Another fierce critic of Rodrigo Duterte, human rights activist Leila de Lima, spent more than six years in prison on drug trafficking charges that she says were fabricated to silence her. Throughout the campaign against her, Maria Ressa, who also has American citizenship, remained in the Philippines.
She is on bail while the Supreme Court reviews her cyberdefamation conviction, and must seek court permission when she wishes to travel abroad.
This was the case when she traveled to Norway in December 2021 to receive her Nobel Peace Prize with Dmitri Muratov, for their efforts to “safeguard freedom of expression.” Maria Ressa sounded optimistic Tuesday, saying her latest acquittal “strengthens our resolve to pursue the justice system.” “It shows that the justice system is working and we hope the other charges will be dismissed,” she said.