Philippine Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa on Wednesday was acquitted of tax evasion, among a slew of charges she has long maintained are politically motivated, calling the verdict a victory for the “truth.”
Ressa, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov in 2021, still faces three other cases, including a cyberlibel conviction under appeal that could mean nearly seven years in prison.
“Today, facts win. Truth wins,” a teary-eyed and defiant Ressa told reporters outside a Manila courtroom after the ruling on four government charges that she and her online media company Rappler had dodged taxes in a 2015 bond sale to foreign investors.
Photo: AFP
It was her first court acquittal since former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s government began filing charges against her.
Ressa had earlier termed the cases “politically motivated” and “a brazen abuse of power.”
The tax court said prosecutors failed to prove “beyond reasonable doubt” that Ressa and Rappler had evaded income taxes.
In a separate interview following her acquittal, Ressa said the verdict was a “victory for journalists” in the Philippines and around the world.
“If you stand up to power, yes you get beaten up [for] four years and two months, but right will win,” Ressa said.
“I think this is hope for anyone who has been unjustly accused,” she said.
The 59-year-old has been battling a series of cases that media advocates say were filed due to her vocal criticism of Duterte and his drug war, which claimed thousands of lives.
Ressa and Muratov were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to “safeguard freedom of expression.”
In a statement, Rappler said: “An adverse decision would have had far-reaching repercussions on both the press and the capital markets... With you we will continue to #HoldTheLine” — a slogan used to symbolize their fight for press freedom.
Media Freedom Coalition cochairs Canada and the Netherlands welcomed the result.
“Today’s acquittal ... marks an important and positive step towards upholding rule of law and media freedom,” the two nations’ embassies in the Philippines said in a coalition statement.
German Ambassador to the Philippines Anke Reiffenstuel on Twitter hailed the ruling as “a victory for journalists, #PressFreedom and the rule of law in the PH.”
Despite the acquittal, Ressa faces potential prison from the cyberlibel case, while the future of Rappler, which she founded in 2012, remains uncertain.
Ressa said that she was more hopeful about the prospects in the remaining legal cases, although she had left her fate up to the courts.
“What we do know is that the world is watching and that we have a government that wants the world to watch. So I’m optimistic about it,” Ressa said.
Rappler is challenging a Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission order to shut down for allegedly contravening a ban on foreign ownership of media oulets.
Under the constitution, investment in media is reserved for Philippine citizens or entities controlled by citizens.
The case springs from a 2015 investment by US-based Omidyar Network, established by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.
Omidyar Network later transferred its Rappler investment to the site’s local managers to stave off efforts by Duterte to shutter it.
The third outstanding case is also a tax-dodging charge against Ressa and Rappler.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in September last year said that he would not interfere in Ressa’s cases, citing the separation of powers between the executive and judicial branches of government.
Shortly after Marcos took office last year, Ressa lost an appeal against a 2020 conviction for cyberlibel.
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