By Azer Parrocha/Philippine News Agency
MANILA — Malacañang on Tuesday said human rights lawyer Amal Clooney is welcome to defend Rappler CEO Maria Ressa who is facing a string of criminal cases filed by government.
Clooney and Caoilfhionn Gallagher, who both specialize in international law and human rights, will lead the team that will be working with lawyers in the United States and in Manila.
“They’re welcome to defend Maria,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a Palace briefing.
“Palagay ko naghahanap lang sila ng katapat ko (I guess they’re only looking for my counterpart),” Panelo, who is also Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, quipped.
Panelo said he is “excited” to debate with Clooney but noted that Clooney needed to be educated on Ressa’s case.
“Mukhang nabola niya lang si Atty. Amal. Misinformed kasi si Atty. Amal e (It looks like Atty. Amal was only sweet-talked. Atty. Amal is actually misinformed),” Panelo said.
“Siguro pag nagkita kami (Perhaps if we met each other), I can — to use the word of the President — educate her,” he added.
Panelo, meanwhile, said Clooney and Gallagher can coordinate with Filipino lawyers but cannot appear before the Philippine courts.
“Kumbaga, parang consultant lang siya or spokesperson (In other words, it’s like she’s her consultant or spokesperson),” Panelo said.
Clooney was part of a legal team that represented Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who were sentenced to seven years in jail on convictions under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act.
The cases against Ressa started with the revocation of Rappler’s certification of incorporation for allegedly violating the constitutional restriction on foreign ownership of mass media.
Ressa, who is facing alleged security fraud, tax evasion, and cyber libel charges before Philippine courts, has described these cases as harassment for their critical reporting of the Duterte administration.
Earlier, Panelo called on Ressa to stop using press freedom as an excuse to attack the Duterte administration for her arrest.
He said Ressa and other critics of the administration are proof that freedom of the press is alive in the country.
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