Nobel winner Maria Ressa, news outlet cleared of tax evasion

Journalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa

Associated Press

Jan. 18, 2023 3:15 AM PT

MANILA — Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa and her online news outlet were cleared Wednesday of tax evasion charges that she said were among a slew of legal cases used by former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to try to muzzle critical reporting.

The Court of Tax Appeals ruled that prosecutors had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ressa and Rappler Holdings Corp. evaded tax payments in four instances after raising capital through partnerships with two foreign investors. “The acquittal of the accused is based on the findings of the court ... that respondents did not commit the crime charge,” the court said in its decision.

Rappler welcomed the ruling as a “triumph of facts over politics.”

“We thank the court for this just decision and for recognizing that the fraudulent, false, and flimsy charges made by the Bureau of Internal Revenue do not have any basis in fact,” Rappler said in a statement. “An adverse decision would have had far-reaching repercussions on both the press and the capital markets.”

After the verdict was announced, Ressa fought back tears as she said: “Today, facts win, truth wins, justice wins. This acquittal, even if took a long time, is not just for Rappler. It is for every Filipino who has ever been unjustly accused.”

Human Rights Watch said that the tax charges under Duterte’s rule were “bogus and politically motivated” and that the acquittal of Ressa and Rappler “is a victory for press freedom in the Philippines.”

Ressa shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov for fighting for the survival of their news organizations, defying government efforts to shut them down. They were honored for “their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”

The tax charges against Ressa and Rappler stemmed from a separate 2018 charge by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Manila’s corporate watchdog, that the news website had violated a constitutional provision prohibiting foreign ownership and control of Philippine media companies. The charge said Rappler had received funds from foreign investors Omidyar Network and North Base Media through financial papers called Philippine Depositary Receipts.

The commission ordered the closure of Rappler on the basis of the allegation, which Rappler denied and has appealed, saying it is a news company totally owned and controlled by Filipinos.

The tax court ruled that the Philippine Depositary Receipts issued by Rappler were non-taxable, removing the basis of the tax evasion charges filed by Justice Department prosecutors under Duterte.

“No gain or income was realized by accused in the subject transactions,” the court said.

There was no immediate reaction from the government and Duterte.

Ressa and Rappler face three more legal challenges: a separate tax case filed by prosecutors in another court, her Supreme Court appeal of an online libel conviction and Rappler’s appeal of the closure order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ressa faces up to six years in prison if she loses the appeal of the libel conviction, which was filed by a businessman who said a Rappler news report falsely linked him to murder, drug dealing, human trafficking and other crimes.

Rappler, founded in 2012, was one of several Philippine and international news agencies that reported critically on Duterte’s brutal crackdown on illegal drugs, which left thousands of mostly petty drug suspects dead, and his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, including prolonged police-enforced lockdowns that deepened poverty, caused one of the country’s worst recessions and sparked corruption allegations over government medical purchases.

The large number of drug killings are being investigated by the International Criminal Court as a possible crime against humanity.

Duterte ended his often-turbulent six-year term last year and was succeeded by Ferdinand Marcos Jr.