People of the Philippines v. Santos, Ressa and Rappler
People of the Philippines v. Santos, Ressa and Rappler | |
---|---|
Court | Manila Regional Trial Court |
Branch | 46 |
Full case name | |
People of the Philippines v. Reynaldo Santos, Jr., Maria Angelita Ressa and Rappler, Inc. | |
Decided | June 15, 2020 |
Citation | R-MNL-19-01141-CR |
Case history | |
Prior action(s) | NBI and Keng v. Santos et al. (XVI-INV-18C-00049)[1] |
Related action(s) | Alleged ownership irregularities:
|
Ruling | |
Ponente | Rainelda Estacio-Montesa |
Maria Ressa was found guilty of cyberlibel, and the Court found that a guilty verdict in her case would not unduly harm the right to free expression in the Philippines. | |
Laws applied | |
Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 Constitution of the Philippines (1987).—Article III Section 4 |
People of the Philippines v. Santos, Ressa and Rappler (R-MNL-19-01141-CR), also known as the Maria Ressa cyberlibel case, is a high-profile criminal case in the
: 36The case centered on an article published on
The court ruled that Ressa "did not offer a scintilla of proof that they verified the imputations of various crimes in the disputed article ... [Rappler] just simply published them as news in their online publication in reckless disregard of whether they are false or not."
The ruling was criticized by several human rights groups and international organizations,
Background
The
Santos Jr.'s article primarily relied on a 2002
On December 20, 2017, Keng filed a complaint-affidavit before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to charge Santos, Jr. and Ressa, along with Rappler's treasurer James Bitanga and six others, with cyberlibel.[22][23] The NBI's Cybercrime Department argued that because of a legal gray area regarding the theory of "continuous publication",[note 1] it can be assumed that Keng saw the article in question after the passing of the law.[7] However, the NBI ultimately decided not to charge Rappler.[22] The Department of Justice (DOJ) later took up the case and recommended the charges be filed. The DOJ reasoned that on February 19, 2014, the article was changed to correct a misspelling of the word "evasion",[note 2][24] which can be considered as re-publication according to the department.[2]
Another issue that the DOJ opined on was the
Ressa was arrested on the night of February 13, 2019; she spent the night in jail before being released on bail the next morning. She alleged that she was purposely arrested at night so that she could not bail herself out in a timely manner.
Aside from People v. Santos, et al., Rappler also faced a number of lawsuits filed by various government agencies, including on the
Trial
Ressa and Santos Jr. were arraigned on May 13, 2019.
In the lead-up to the trial, the defendants' lawyers tried several times to achieve dismissal via
The verdict was originally scheduled for April 3, 2020, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[42] On the advice of counsel, neither Ressa nor Santos Jr. testified in their own defense.[43][44]
Verdict
After a trial that lasted for eight months,[45] Ressa and Santos Jr. were both found guilty of cyberlibel by Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46.[3][4]: 36 The verdict was handed down on June 15, 2020.[3][4]: 36 Although corporate liability against Rappler Inc. had been sought, the judge ruled that there was no corporate liability in this case.[4]: 28–29 [8] They were both sentenced to between six months and six years in prison,[4]: 36 but are entitled to bail while they have appeals pending in higher courts.[8] They were also both assessed fines of ₱400,000 for combined "moral damages" and "exemplary damages".[4]: 36
In its ruling, the Court said that Ressa "did not offer a scintilla of proof that they verified the imputations of various crimes in the disputed article. [...] They just simply published them as news in their online publication in reckless disregard of whether they are false or not";[4]: 34 it also said that Ressa committed a "clever ruse" by not calling herself an editor-in-chief, but rather an executive editor, to avoid libel liability;[4]: 25 this was criticized by several media outlets, as the position is common.[46][47]
The Court also drew an
The ruling was handed down in person, despite the ongoing
Appeal
Ressa
"Amicus curiae"-Intervention
The Supreme Court of the Philippines First Division's resolution dated January 24, 2024, granted Irene Khan's Motion for Leave to Intervene, to sit as an "amicus curiae" or chosen Expert and it also admitted and noted her amicus brief submitted through Atty. Rodel Taton. "The law in the country fails to adequately protect the right to freedom of expression, citing Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which the Philippines is a member. The country's Ant-Cybercrime Law raises serious concerns that it limits the ability of journalists to expose, document and address issues of important public interest, thereby violating the right to receive and impart information," Khan's brief alleged. The International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute was also permitted to submit its legal opinion “by way of special appearance” through Atty. Maria Cristina Yambot, in Ressa and Reynaldo Santos' case.[54][55]
People of the Philippines v. Ressa
After the verdict, Keng sued Ressa again for cyberlibel, this time over a tweet she wrote on February 15, 2019, which contained a screenshot of the 2002 Philippine Star article discussed in the 2012 Rappler article.[56][57] Keng stated that by republishing the article, "[Ressa] feloniously communicated the malicious imputations against me not only to her 350,000 Twitter followers, but to anyone who has access to the internet."[58]
This second case, directed only against Ressa, was filed on November 23, 2020 at Makati RTC Branch 147.[59] The case was withdrawn by Keng on June 1, 2021, to "dedicate time and resources to support ongoing efforts to battle the pandemic".[60][61] Although Keng did not request a criminal dismissal, judge Andres Soriano still dismissed the case, reasoning that "the public prosecutor manifested that with the private complainant turning hostile to the cause of the prosecution, the prosecution can no longer prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt."[60]
This case does not affect the original guilty verdict under appeal.[62][60]
Reactions
Reaction to the case was mixed. Before the verdict in April 2020, the annual
Vice President Leni Robredo, the leader of the opposition, argued that the verdict was intended as an instruction to the opposition to "keep quiet".[69] Hillary Clinton echoed a similar sentiment; while Madeleine Albright said she "stands with Maria Ressa".[70] The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) declared that the verdict "basically kills freedom of speech and of the press" and has led to a "dark day ... for all Filipinos."[71] J.J. Disini, who represented Ressa and Santos during the trial, criticized the verdict.[72]
The
Spokesperson
See also
- ABS-CBN franchise renewal controversy
Notes
- print-on-demandfor printed works.
- ^ The misspelling is evation.
External links
- The Decision of the Court Archived June 20, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
References
- ^ Philippine Department of Justice February 4, 2019), Text. p. 7
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- ^ ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rainelda H. Estacio-Montesa (June 15, 2020). "People of the Philippines v. Reynaldo Santos Jr., Maria Angelita Ressa and Rappler Inc". Manila Regional Trial Court. Retrieved June 15, 2020 – via Abogado.com.ph.
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After the SONA in July 2017, Ressa said the first subpoena was issued against them. 'Within a few months in January 2018, we received a shutdown order, a revocation of our permit or license to operate.'
- live stream). Rappler. Event occurs at 10:49., and then that became a barrage of cases.
We fast forward to three years later, July 2017, the president now is Duterte, he issues a State of the Nation Address where he mentions Rappler and says that Rappler is fully owned by Americans. Soon after that, a week later, Rappler received its first subpoena
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Te (Ressa's attorney): Ah, yes, the arraignment was conducted this morning and the information was read to the accused and both the accused did not enter a plea, so based on the Rules of Court, the judge entered a plea of not guilty for both of the accused.
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[N]either Ressa nor Santos took the witness stand.
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This "nomenclature" may be new to her, but it is not limited to Rappler and, it is, in fact so commonplace that to declare it "a clever ruse" to avoid liability shows Judge Estacio-Montesa's apparent unfamiliarity with the terrain that is journalism.
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[T]he courts have established a record of decisions liberally interpreting the law in favor of the press. [...] Nowhere in Southeast Asia are government officials so accessible to the press. Cabinet ministers are available from the earliest hours to answer questions from radio show hosts on the news of the day involving their responsibilities.
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(Doronila) [T]he press in the Philippines is probably the most unfettered in the region and replicates the western models of a free press[.] (Coronel) Nowadays, the Philippines boasts a rowdy and vibrant press which thinks of itself as the freest in Asia. With the fall of the Marcos regime, a 14-year-old system of media controls collapsed overnight.
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