{"id":588180,"date":"2022-04-04T11:33:15","date_gmt":"2022-04-04T11:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?p=72425"},"modified":"2022-04-04T11:33:15","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T11:33:15","slug":"media-watchdogs-slam-16-new-legal-complaints-against-ressa-rappler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/04\/04\/media-watchdogs-slam-16-new-legal-complaints-against-ressa-rappler\/","title":{"rendered":"Media watchdogs slam 16 new legal complaints against Ressa, Rappler"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/category\/pacific-media-watch\/\">Pacific Media Watch<\/a> newsdesk<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Ahead of national elections in the Philippines next month, the state has stepped up its attacks on Nobel Peave laureate Maria Ressa and the news outlet she leads, <em>Rappler<\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/rsf.org\/en\/news\/philippines-rsf-and-hold-line-coalition-condemns-16-new-legal-complaints-against-maria-ressa-rappler\">reports the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders global media watchdog<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis dramatic escalation in the legal harassment of Maria Ressa and <em>Rappler<\/em> highlights the urgent need for the Philippines\u2019 to decriminalise libel and do away with laws that are repeatedly abused to persecute journalists whose reporting exposes public wrongdoing,&#8221; said the Hold the Line Coalition Steering Committee.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The state\u2019s blatant attempts to suppress <em>Rappler\u2019s<\/em> election-related fact-checking services is an unacceptable attempt to cheat the public of their right to accurate information, which is critical during elections.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?s=Maria+Ressa+Rappler\"><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> Other Maria Ressa and <em>Rappler<\/em> reports<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Philippines president election is on May 9.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/nation\/quiboloy-workers-file-dozen-cyber-libel-complaints-against-rappler\/\">Fourteen new cyber libel complaints<\/a> have been made against <em>Rappler<\/em> in recent weeks, naming several journalists and their sources in connection with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/newsbreak\/investigative\/stolen-lives-lost-identities-quiboloy-ex-followers-traumatized-years\/\">reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte\u2019s pastor Apollo Quiboloy<\/a>, who is on the FBI\u2019s &#8220;most wanted&#8221; list, and eight of his followers.<\/p>\n<p>Quiboloy and his associates were charged with conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; sex trafficking of children; marriage fraud; fraud, and misuse of visas; and various money laundering offences.<\/p>\n<p>Quiboloy\u2019s company Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), which has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/technology\/social-media\/apollo-quiboloy-sonshine-media-network-disinformation-attacks-government-critics\/\">attacked independent journalists and news outlets<\/a> reporting critically on the Duterte administration, was recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/business\/channel-43-used-by-abs-cbn-goes-apollo-quiboloy-smni\/\">granted a TV licence<\/a> by the government.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to these cases, Ressa has been named personally as one of 17 reporters, editors and executives, and seven news organisations in cyber libel complaints brought by Duterte government cabinet minister Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Legal harassment<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/nation\/cusi-sues-rappler-other-news-organizations-libel-malampaya-dennis-uy-reports\/\">He alleges Ressa and the other named individuals<\/a> and organisations \u201cpublicly accused [him] of graft\u201d by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/business\/citizens-file-complaint-vs-cusi-dennis-uy-over-malampaya-buyout\/\">reporting on a graft suit<\/a> filed against him and a businessman.<\/p>\n<p>Cusi is demanding each of the accused pay him 200 million pesos (nearly US$4 million) in damages.<\/p>\n<p>Ressa did not write the article published by <em>Rappler<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>If the authorities choose to prosecute these cases, they will become criminal charges with potentially heavy jail sentences attached.<\/p>\n<p>Having already been convicted of one criminal cyber libel charge, which is under appeal, and facing multiple other pre-existing legal cases, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreign.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/033022_Ressa_Testimony.pdf\">Ressa testified before the US Senate<\/a> last week about the state-enabled legal harassment she experiences:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cAll told, I could go to jail for the rest of my life. Because I refuse to stop doing my job as a journalist. Because Rappler holds the line and continues to protect the public sphere.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In parallel, <em>Rappler<\/em> is facing another legal challenge, with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/nation\/elections\/calida-petition-supreme-court-void-comelec-fact-check-deal-violating-free-speech\/\">Philippines\u2019 Solicitor-General petitioning the Supreme Court<\/a> to void <em>Rappler\u2019s<\/em> fact-checking agreement with the Commission of Elections (COMELEC).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Countering disinformation<\/strong><br \/>\nAs a result, this collaboration between <em>Rappler<\/em> and COMELEC designed to counter disinformation associated with the presidential poll has been temporarily halted &#8212; just over a month from the election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis new wave of cases and complaints, which represents an egregious attack on press freedom, is designed to undermine the essential work of fact-checking and critical reporting during elections &#8212; acts which help uphold the integrity of democratic processes.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<em>Rappler<\/em> must be allowed to perform the essential public service of exposing falsehoods, particularly during the election period, even when these prove politically damaging for those in power,\u201d the coalition said.<\/p>\n<p>The Philippines is ranked 138th out of 180 countries in <a href=\"https:\/\/rsf.org\/en\/ranking\">RSF&#8217;s 2021 World Press Freedom Index<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Statement by <a href=\"mailto:jposetti@icfj.org\">Julie Posetti<\/a> (ICFJ), <a href=\"mailto:gguillenkaiser@cpj.org\">Gypsy Guill\u00e9n Kaiser<\/a> (CPJ), and <a href=\"mailto:dbastard@rsf.org\">Daniel Bastard<\/a> (RSF) on behalf of the Hold the Line Coalition.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The #HTL Coalition comprises more than 80 organisations around the world. This statement is issued by the #HoldTheLine Steering Committee, but it does not necessarily reflect the position of all or any individual coalition members or organisations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pacific Media Watch newsdesk Ahead of national elections in the Philippines next month, the state has stepped up its attacks on Nobel Peave laureate Maria Ressa and the news outlet she leads, Rappler, reports the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders global media watchdog. \u201cThis dramatic escalation in the legal harassment of Maria Ressa and Rappler highlights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":400,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[789,28832,29609,432,433,50,13635,5,365,5083,6,118,24496,21278,94,652,35726,3332,358,796,14,653,1205,799,12235,1369,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588180"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/400"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588180"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":589175,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588180\/revisions\/589175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}