#WeStandWithMariaRessa

It seems that before we can even stop to take a breath, we're already dealing with another blow to our fundamental rights as people.

Maria Ressa, CEO of Rappler, and former Rappler journalist Reynaldo Santos Jr. were convicted of "cyber-libel" yesterday. As written by BBC, the conviction was due to an eight-year-old Rappler article citing an intelligence report of businessman Wilfredo Keng's alleged links to illegal drugs and human trafficking. The basis of the prosecution came under the "cyber-libel" law, which was enforced four months after the article was written.

Rappler reports that under the Revised Penal Code, as revised by Republic Act 4661, you can be sued for libel only one year within publication. Keng filed his complaint in 2017, or 5 years after the article was published in 2012. The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines categorically disallows any retroactive implementation of a law. This is stated in the Bill of Rights.

Ressa and her team at Rappler have been unfailingly critical of President Duterte's administration. She even likens being a journalist in the Philippines to being in a war zone—which, given the extrajudicial killings, isn't a far-reaching analogy.

And, as we have mentioned in our statements on George Floyd and the unconstitutional Anti-Terrorism Bill of 2020, we cannot stay silent. 

The arrest of Maria Ressa is clearly a politically-motivated act. It is an abuse of power, a threat to our democracy, and a danger to our fundamental freedoms. The fact that the Malacañang has told Ressa to face the charges "head-on" is a direct indicator that they will do nothing to protect their citizens' rights.

 

And while this is going on, the pandemic is still raging, people are still dying, and the government prioritises implementing a blatantly unconstitutional Anti-Terrorism Bill (when they can seriously still revise this? Why are they rushing it?). This is unacceptable.

The Better Collective stands with Maria Ressa and Rappler and their unbiased reporting of the political climate in the Philippines. The Better Collective stands with  journalists all over the country and the world, in their search for truth. 

The Better Collective does not stand for bullies who, when called out for their incompetence, decide to hide behind their positions and misuse their power to silence their critics.

The Better Collective is not a news website. But we will always stand for the truth.