Journalist Maria Ressa faces jail time |
The Philippine government's attempts to shut down the online news site Rappler strikes at one of the pillars of democracy: a free and truthful press.
As the administration of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was preparing to transfer power to the newly elected President Bongbong Marcos, it delivered two vicious blows against Rappler and its co-founder Maria Ressa, the 2021Nobel Peace laureate.
On June 28, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission affirmed its 2018 decision to revoke Rappler’s certificates of incorporation, effectively confirming its shutdown.
Less than two weeks later, Ressa lost an appeal against a 2020 conviction for cyber libel, putting her one step closer to serving up to nearly seven years behind bars.
Rappler drew Duterte's wrath for its regular scrutiny of former Duterte’s self-proclaimed “war on drugs” – echoing serious concerns by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, about the widespread and systematic killing of thousands of alleged drug suspects.
The online news website also explored the spread of disinformation over the internet and social media, which heavily influenced the last two Philippine Presidential elections by the use of anonymous accounts that trolled social media, the news source for many Filipinos.
Irony upon irony, the international media is calling on the new Philippine President Bongbong Marcos to revoke those rulings. Marcos is the son of Ferdinand Marcos, the dictator who ruled over the Philippines for 20 years, 1965 to 1985. When Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, the first thing he did was to seize control of the media, once the boldest and most aggressive free press in Asia.
"I continue to appeal to the incoming administration, work with journalists, we’re here to help you give a better future for the Philippines. We’re not your enemies," said Ressa.
In a letter to the new president, Jodie Ginsberg, president of the Committee to Protect Journalists, wrote:
"To start with, your administration should end the relentless persecution of journalist and Nobel Peace laureate Maria Ressa, a global beacon of press freedom. CPJ calls on your government to immediately drop all pending charges against Ressa, her colleagues, and the Rappler media group. These cases range from trumped-up tax charges to cyber libel accusations that threaten to shutter Rappler and carry potential prison penalties for those charged ...
"As the Philippines’ newly elected leader, you have the mandate to reassert your country’s damaged democratic credentials by forthrightly promoting and protecting press freedom. We urge you to seize this important moment and state clearly from the outset that journalists will be free to report without fear of reprisal, intimidation, or imprisonment during your tenure."
June 30 "is a new day in the Philippines with a new Administration coming to office and we call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to quickly reverse the decisions to shutter Rappler and allow the newsroom and its journalists to operate unimpeded," wrote Jen Judson, president of the National Press Club and Gil Klein, president of the National Press Club Journalism Institute,
"We view this as an opportunity for the new Marcos government to make a good faith demonstration of its support for a free and secure democratic Philippines, of which a robust and independent press is a vital cornerstone. We look forward to a return to the rule of law in the Philippines as it relates to Rappler. We expect this will be the case. We stand by Maria Ressa," concluded their joint appeal.
Since Duterte took office six years ago, Rappler and Ressa have faced harassment at hands of Philippine authorities under President Duterte. The harassment and intimidation campaign took the form of online attacks, arrests and legal charges. Ressa has also been slapped with a series of civil and criminal cases, including charges of tax evasion, three cyber libel cases and violations of foreign ownership rules. At one point, Ressa faced up to 100 years in prison cumulatively in various cases.
Speaking on the issue, International Press Institute Deputy Director Scott Griffen said, “The Philippines’ decision to shut down Rappler is a flagrant attempt to silence a critical media outlet and a serious violation of press freedom, which has rapidly eroded under the Duterte administration.”
IPI executive board chair Khadija Patel said, “This decision is deplorable and is testimony to the legacy of an administration that has actively impeded press freedom throughout. As we call for this order to be overturned, we also call on the newly elected president to uphold the rule of law when it comes to news media in the country and stop harassment of critical journalists.”
While its actions against Rappler and Ressa are the highest profile incidents, Duterte has had a running war against the media during his entire time in office.
Duterte shut down the biggest and most influential television network ABS-CBN in 2020. Although, the independent network continues to broadcast online, the loss of its operating franchise has decimated its national television audience.
"We also urge your government to cease the “red-tagging” of journalists, the wrongful and dangerous labeling of reporters as supporters of the banned communist insurgency," urged the CPJ. "Duterte’s administration made red-tagging de facto government policy and employed the practice to threaten, harass, and jail journalists. Red-tagging is especially dangerous considering the Philippine military’s alleged role in extrajudicial killings and torture of accused communists.
The Philippines is also one of the most dangerous places for journalists to work, notes the CPJ. "More broadly, we implore your government to prioritize ending the enduring culture of impunity in the killing of Filipino journalists," based on CPJ’s latest Impunity Index, a quantitative measure of the number of unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of the population.
Ressa, meanwhile, is out on bail as she awaits the new Marcos regime's position on a free press.
"Who knows what the new administration will do?" Ressa told Axios editor-in-chief Sara Kehaulani Goo. "If the rule of law wins, these cases (against me and Rappler) will be thrown out. I look forward to a new administration and their upgrading of the rule of law."
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