CFWIJ and WPF celebrates the recent triumph in the legal battle of Nobel laureate Maria Ressa in the Philippines.

Philippine court ruling clears Rappler CEO and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa of the last tax evasion charge levied against her and the outlet.

It has been an uphill battle for Rappler CEO and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa against the Philippine judicial system and the libel case lodged against her in 2018.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and journalist Maria Ressa’s independent online news portal Rappler has been ordered shut by the Philippines Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) yet again.

As Filipino journalist Maria Ressa headed to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, a new lawsuit was filed against her news outlet Rappler.

Solicitor General Jose Calida has filed a motion in the Supreme Court requesting that Maria Ressa be disallowed from traveling to receive her Nobel Peace Prize.

The court decided to drop another libel charge against Maria Ressa. This is the second libel charge against the journalist being dropped in two months. The case concerned the alleged corruption at a leading university - De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, regarding which the university itself decided to open an investigation. The case was particularly baffling because Ressa herself was neither involved in the research nor in the publication of the piece that made the allegations.

Rappler CEO and executive director, Maria Ressa, was cleared in the defamation case filed by businessman Wilfredo Keng. The charges were formally dismissed by Makati judge Andres Soriano in open court on Tuesday, June, 1. The case against Maria Ressa was the second libel case filed by Wilfredo Keng.

Rappler CEO & Executive Editor, Maria Ressa, was once again summoned to court. In the latest legal challenge, Maria faces charges of tax evasion. The prosecutor believes Rapplers' parent company owed sales taxes, given their alleged dealings in financial securities. These accusations are the latest in the slew of baseless claims filed against the journalist. CFWIJ condemns the relentless legal harassment of Maria Ressa and demands the Filipino government end the unjustified torment against her.

Maria Ressa was charged in yet another cyber libel case for her role as an executive editor of Rappler— a position she vacated in June of 2020. The libel suit was filed in response to an article titled, “ Thesis for sale at the De La Salle - College of St. Benilde.” The piece alleges Ariel Pineda, a professor at St. Benilde college, of accepting PHP20,000 bribe from students to clear their theses. Rambo Talabong, the Rappler reporter who wrote the article, is also named in the same libel suit.

Rappler founder Maria Ressa faces the third charge of cyber libel. According to her lawyer Ted Te, the third cyber libel complaint came after the story aired in October 2020 about De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Manila students paid P20,000 to pass their thesis. The complaint was filed by Benilde’s lecturer Ariel Pineda who was at the top of the scene. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns all charges against Maria and reiterates the Duterte regime once again that journalism is not a crime.

Rappler founder Maria Ressa sent the prosecutor today an 18 page affidavit concerning the second cyber libel complaint filed by businessman Wilfredo Keng.

The Regional Trial Court Branch 64 in Manila that is tasked with deciding on Maria Ressa and Rey Santos Jr.’s request for reconsideration on their cyber libel conviction, has denied the request on basis of lacking merit.

Maria Ressa, one of the Philippines’ most prominent journalists, has appeared before court today giving her statement about tax evasion charges in a case she has described as a form of harassment.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism has participated in a global press freedom campaign - #HoldTheLine - to support Maria Ressa and condemn her conviction by a court in Manila.