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Rappler’s Maria Ressa, 2 others are charged with a crime that did not exist during the so-called offense

January 23, 2018

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By Raïssa Robles

This feels like the 1980s under the dictator Ferdinand Marcos all over again.

I cannot believe that the National Bureau of Investigation is taking seriously a complaint of cyber libel against Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, reporter Reynaldo Santos Jr. and Rappler investor Benjamin Bitanga.

This crime did not exist at the time that Rappler had published a news story which mentioned the aggrieved ethnic Chinese businessman Wilfredo Keng who had filed the complaint.

To countercheck my gut feel that there was no case, I talked to three lawyers. All of them told me the same thing: You cannot be hauled to court for a crime that did not yet exist in the law books.

Two of them agreed to be quoted by name for my story in South China Morning Post (HK):

Philippine news website Rappler says 2012 cyber libel claims are ‘political in nature’

The allegations came just days before the site had its business licence revoked for violations of the country’s foreign media ownership laws

By Raïssa Robles

Rights advocates have challenged allegations that Philippines news website Rappler committed cyber libel with a story published in 2012, almost two years before legislation for such online crimes had come into effect.

The complaint came a day before the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission on January 11 cancelled Rappler’s business licence for alleged violations of the country’s foreign media ownership laws – a charge the site denies and has called a “concerted effort to turn journalism into a crime”.

In a subpoena from the National Bureau of Investigation, dated January 10, businessman Wilfredo Keng accused the site’s chief executive Maria Ressa, investor Benjamin Bitanga and justice reporter Reynaldo Santos Jnr of online libel in the May 2012 article headlined “CJ using SUVs of ‘controversial’ businessmen”.

The five-year-old story said a luxury vehicle being used by chief justice at the time, Renato Corona, was registered to Keng. The businessman denied the claims, saying he did own a black Suburban with the number plate ZWK 111, but it was not the one used by the chief justice.

One of Keng’s companies had a pending case in a lower court at the time, Rappler also reported.

However, rights experts said Keng’s complaint is invalid because the article was dated before Filipino cyber libel laws had taken effect.

To read the rest, please click on this link.

 

Tagged With: Benjamin Bitanga, cyber libel, Cybercrime Prevention Act, Maria Ressa, Rappler, Reynaldo Santos Jr., Wilfredo Keng

Comments

  1. sam says

    January 29, 2018 at 9:47 PM

    this might be out of topic, but it has something about “NEWS”

    today Overall Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang got suspended.
    Carandang was suspended for releasing (they say) bank accounts of the old crazy man and his family (confidential daw).

    My question is … can something not true be confidential? Reading between the lines or reading the fine print, could this mean “Guilty”?

    • raissa says

      January 29, 2018 at 10:22 PM

      Would love to see the actual Order of Suspension. The wording.

  2. sam says

    January 26, 2018 at 9:47 PM

    they might consider Rappler as “irresponsible” reporting in fact the old crazy man called them as “Fake News” this is what they mean “responsible”.

    Have they ever called the lady to being up “fake news” or irresponsible? No! why? because everything she says is music to their ears, this is even when she posted wrong pictures fooling the madlang people.

    So that is how they define “RESPONSIBLE”

    • arc says

      January 27, 2018 at 7:18 AM

      them nasties cannot be trusted to define responsible, kaya we’ll reclaim responsible. to many us who have been schooled and brought up to be law abiding citizens, responsible means capable of rational conduct, accountable for one’s own action and respectable to fellow beings.

      them nasties should not be given free hand to highjack the meaning of responsible. refute them, question them and dont make it easy for them to thrash and chop-chop our beloved ‘responsible’ no matter how loud they are, how forceful, how vindictive, how how the karabaw de batuten.

      we still have free speech kaya sagutin natin sila, toe to toe if need be.

      them nasties’ definition of responsible is wrong, wrong, wrong, and as wrong as the relocation of mt mayon sa naga.

    • raissa says

      January 28, 2018 at 9:45 PM

      You are right.

  3. Johnny Lin says

    January 26, 2018 at 1:26 PM

    Critiquing Du30 and his allies, like Mocha Uson, they cry foul for being bullied.
    When Du30 critics complain of harassment like what Maria Ressa claims, Du30 administration claims that nonexistent laws were violated.

    Lately Mocha Uson announced on live blog with all her claimed intelligence and understanding of the plight of the Philippines that Mayon Volcano is NOW located in Naga. After being corrected by Netizens, her fan(atic)s, started defending her. Mocha girls is now comparing Mocha to Près Aquino in their Fb page. They have elevated the status of Mocha from Asst Sec to Presidential level. Mocha girl Bocobo claims that Mocha Uson returning her UST “Fake award” is admirable. Fact is Mocha is SHAMELESS and HYPOCRITE because she should NOT have accepted the award since the criteria was only to be a UST graduate and works in government. Nothing meritorious as criterion, yet she accepted the award. What is admirable on her action!
    Secondly, Bocobo claims that Mocha Uson admitting her error in declaring the geographical location of Mayon in Naga is “Human”. No, she is more than human based on her many blogs, that she is more intelligent than many of her critics. In fact she should not have committed that serious error because Mayon in Albay had been in the news for days. A grade one pupil retains her knowledge of Philippine history better than Mocha considering she is a college graduate:

    Enchong D: Buboy- Nasaan ang Mayon Volcano?
    Buboy(grade 1)- nasa Albay po, turo ng titser ko.
    Enchong: Mali, sabi ni Asec Mocha Uson, nasa Naga daw. Tama siya kasi UST college graduate siya at nagtrabaho sa gobyerno
    Grade 1: yung titser ko po UST college graduate din at nagtrabaho sa Gobyerno din.
    Enachong: kaya Tama si Mo ha dahil Titser mo hindi tumanggap ng award sa UST, Si Mocha pinag malaki pa niya yung award nya at tuwang tuwa siya………
    Pwera Lang nung NAPUNA!!

    He he he
    Permission given to Post to Mocha girls FB and Twitter

    • arc says

      January 27, 2018 at 7:43 AM

      mt mayon today, tomorrow another landmark may will be relocated by mocha, he, he, he. not as old as the president, and already, she is manifesting dementia, her cognitive wires crossed already.

      she got her 15minutes of infamy, an awardee made not awardee so soon. aba, human pala siya, brought abruptly down to earth. naumpog!

  4. kalahari says

    January 25, 2018 at 11:21 AM

    On December 29, 2017, Rappler published the article “Drug war earns Duterte “Person of the Year” for 2017 by a US nonprofit organization because of his war on drugs.

    The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), gives the title to an “individual who has done the most in the world to advance organized criminal activity and corruption,” made the announcement in a press conference on Thursday, December 28.

    “Duterte has made a mockery of rule of law in his country,” said Drew Sullivan, editor for the OCCRP and one of the 9 judges who selected the Person of the Year for 2017 from nominations from journalists and the public. While he is not your typical corrupt leader, he has empowered corruption in an innovative way. His death squads have allegedly focused on criminals but, in fact, are less discriminating. He has empowered a bully-run system of the survival of the fiercest. In the end, the Philippines is more corrupt, more cruel, and less democratic,” Sullivan added.

    OCCRP said the Philippine leader edged out two African strongmen for the title – South African President Jacob Zuma and ousted Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. It was not the first time for Duterte to be considered for the OCCRP title. Last year, he was runner-up to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

    https://.www.rappler.com/nation/192480-drug-war-duterte-person-of-year-2017-occrp

    • arc says

      January 26, 2018 at 9:53 AM

      kaya, tingnan nyo po kung anong nangyari sa rappler ngayon: it’s paying the price for speaking the truth. sec refused to renew rappler’s registration, at rappler’s maria ressa ay balak kasuhan ni wiggera (na mahilig sa gerra) ng cyber libel.

      duterte beat two of the most brutal men, yay! number one siya: pinaka sa buong mundo for the year 2017. will he repeat the same feat for 2018 through to 2022? mr monopoly.

      meanwhile, ang communication assec niyang si mocha is distorting history and changing the landscape. dyos ko, dapat sana mt mayon pumunta sa shoal at duon mag-alburuto. the chinese would have wanted the instant reclamation, he, he, he.

      • kalahari says

        January 26, 2018 at 1:33 PM

        Quotable quotes:

        1. “A government that curtails or limits press freedom and freedom of expression is a frightened and insecure government.” Caritas Phils Archbishop Rolando Tria Tirona

        2. “When Power insists – “you’re either with us or against us,” the space for diversity of voices and ideas shrinks.” Rappler

        3.”When hate and anger are weaponized, it creates a spiral of silence.” Rappler

        4. ” How many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died?” Peter, Paul & Mary (blowing in the wind)

  5. sam says

    January 24, 2018 at 7:15 PM

    I’m not a lawyer pero my reaction sa sinabi ng NBI, valid daw yon complain dahil it still can be seen.
    Hello? I think if ever they really want to use this against “Rappler”, they should look at the date when the article was published.

    since this is being headed by the wigman or the fabricator, natural lang they will be fishing again..

    • arc says

      January 25, 2018 at 4:46 AM

      this is a thing called statute of limitations. dapat yong complain was brought up much much sooner, rather than years later. kapag outside na sa prescribed time yong complain, bale wala na yan kahit patong-patong.

      wigman and nbi is on a fishing expedition in a very leaky boat on a very shallow lake and taking in water. swim, wiggly maggots, swim back to shore! and hang on to your wig, wigman. leave it behind and it’ll contaminate marine life, he, he, he.

      • sam says

        January 25, 2018 at 7:32 AM

        oo nga eh kaya nga tinawag na “NEWS” article yan. Diba ang word na “NEWS” means “bago” the article definitely is not “bago”.

        • arc says

          January 26, 2018 at 10:45 AM

          imbeciles kasi ang mga iyon, at parang si mocha na ang nbi ngayon. while mocha misplaced mt mayon, nbi ‘overshoot the tarmac’.

  6. duquemarino says

    January 23, 2018 at 9:45 PM

    Utos ng hari hindi mababali,
    Sa lahat ng kalaban walang pasubali.

    • raissa says

      January 23, 2018 at 11:08 PM

      Can you develop it into a longer poem?

      Maganda.

  7. kalakala says

    January 23, 2018 at 8:28 PM

    pagkatapos ng rappler ito naman: Cyberattack downs VERA Files website after report on Duterte, Sara’s allegedly undeclared millions

    Cyberattacks took down the website of VERA Files at least twice after it published on Sunday a report on President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s alleged failure to declare over P100 million in investments in their respective statements of assets, liabilities and net worth.

    According to VERA Files president Ellen Tordesillas, the website was hit by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack approximately 30 minutes after it posted the story on Sunday night.

    source gmanews online dated 23 january.

    ingat ma’am raissa

    • raissa says

      January 23, 2018 at 11:09 PM

      My site was also not available around 1 am today.

      I was told. And was given a screen cap.

    • arc says

      January 26, 2018 at 10:07 AM

      caap, civil aeronatics . . . was also attacked, its site down and overloaded with chinese characters. all the more reason not to allow chinese telco to operate in our airwaves.

  8. fersty says

    January 23, 2018 at 7:07 AM

    When the Philippines’ cyber libel law finally took effect, some voiced fears that it would make online libel “a continuing crime” – meaning if an offending post remained on the internet, then a crime was technically still being committed.

    When legislators change a law, that change is announced, so that everyone knows what is and is not illegal from now on. But when judges change the law by reinterpreting it, based on the “evolving standards” of a “living constitution,” nobody knows that they have violated the law until after the fact, when it is too late.

    Retrospective laws are expressly forbidden by the constitution. But the “evolving standards” of a “living constitution” amount to retrospective laws by another name.

    a legal bad joke

    • raissa says

      January 23, 2018 at 7:35 AM

      True.

      I could not have explained this better.

      Thank you.

      • fersty says

        January 24, 2018 at 5:44 AM

        You are WELCOME Ma’m Raissa.

    • arc says

      January 23, 2018 at 12:55 PM

      the beauty po of double jeopardy is that one cannot be convicted 2x for the same crime. and
      no one can be punished time and again for the same crime.

      at saka, court records may make up public records accessible sa internet. so tough luck po if there are people who dont like their names in public domain because of previous court cases.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist Then they came fof the Trade Unionists, and I did not out speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me— And there was no one left to speak for me. —Martin Niemöller (1892-1984)

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