Ressa out on bail as Keng asserts Rappler never got his side
JOURNALIST MARIA A. Ressa has posted a P100,000 bail and been freed after an overnight detention at the National Bureau of Investigation following her Feb. 13 arrest for the cyber libel complaint filed by businessman Wilfredo D. Keng.
Mr. Keng, in a statement through his legal counsel, welcomed the charging of Ms. Ressa and emphasized that he is “committed to see this legal battle to the very end.”
He also said that online new site Rappler, where Ms. Ressa is chief executive officer and executive editor, never attempted to get his side or fact-check the allegations against him and that he never had criminal records.
The Department of Justice (DoJ), in a Jan. 10 resolution, indicted Rappler, Inc. Ms. Ressa and former researcher Reynaldo Santos, Jr. for cyber libel over an article published on May 29, 2012 titled “CJ Using SUVs of Controversial Businessman.”
The article, updated on Feb. 19, 2014, tagged Mr. Keng, the alleged owner of the vehicle used by former chief justice Renato C. Corona, as involved in various illegal activities.
Mr. Keng said that with the development in the case, “it is thus high time that we remember that the foundation of our independence, democracy and freedom is based on one simple truth: no one is above the law.”
“As I pursue this case to its just conclusion, I pray that the dispensation of justice be lawful and swift in recognition of the global platform of the perpetrators,” he said.
The businessman also noted that his complaint is a “test case” on the how the judicial system in the country will “fare against the dangerous precedent that is being set by one reckless and irresponsible member of the media and of the online community.”
Ms. Ressa’s lawyer, Jose Jesus M. Disini, Jr.,, said they will file a motion to quash the information filed by the DoJ before the court last Feb. 6.
“The judge basically agrees with the probable cause of the Department of Justice,” Mr. Disini told reporters. “What we will do is we will file a separate motion to question what was filed and try to have it quashed.”
For her part, Ms. Ressa said her arrest is a demonstration of “abuse of power and weaponization of the law.”
“This isn’t just about, and it’s not just about Rappler. The message the government is sending is very clear. And someone actually told our reporter this last night, ‘Be silent or you’re next.’ So I’m saying and appealing to you not to be silent even if and especially if you’re next,” she told reporters after posting bail.
She also hit Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra, saying that her case was due to his actions.
“DoJ, Secretary Guevarra who I thought is professional, these are your actions. The ripple effects are what we feel as a society but you don’t want to be known as Secretary of Injustice. I also have the right to hold you accountable. I am a citizen of this country and you can’t violate my rights,” she said.