A Manila court on Monday has found Rappler CEO Maria Ressa and former writer-researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr. guilty of cyber libel in a case filed by Wilfredo Keng regarding a 2012 article of the online news organization.
The decision of the Manila RTC Branch 46 said the two accused violated Section 4 of Republic Act 10175 of Cybercrime Prevention Act and have been sentenced to a minimum of six months to six years imprisonment.
Ressa and Santos were ordered to pay Wilfredo Keng Php 200,000 in moral damages. The same amount will be paid to the plaintiff for exemplary damages. The court also ruled that Rappler Incorporated does not have a corporate liability under Section 9 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
The Rappler camp said they were not shocked with the decision of the court, especially since it is not a secret for many that they are critics of the current administration. The Rappler CEO claimed it is an attack on freedom of reporting in the country.
“We are meant to be a cautionary tale, we are meant to make you afraid… Don’t be afraid because if you don’t use your rights, you will lose them,” Ressa stated.
“It could be not just me but other people who’s doing his or her job properly could be in the same situation that I am in right now,” Santos said.
The camp is now preparing for their future actions following the decision of the court.
“Obviously legal steps forward include questioning the decision and the appropriate proceeding whether for motion for reconsideration or an appeal. But as of this moment we still have yet to make the decision,” Rappler legal counsel Theodore Te explained.
Meanwhile, the businessman’s camp emphasized no one has pushed Keng to file the cyber libel complaint. The lawsuit was his initiative as the article negatively affected him.
“Wala pang 2 months ang administration (The administration was just less than 2 months then). We already started the efforts to have the article corrected,” Keng’s legal counsel Ryan Cruz enlightened.
“Kailan lang sila kinasuhan ng government. Nauna kami. Wala kaming kinalaman sa government. Nagkataon lang (The government filed complaints against them just recently. We filed ours earlier. We have nothing to do with the government. It was merely coincidental). It just so happened that they have other issues with the government,” Cruz added. – Report from Kenneth Paciente
