MANILA, Philippines – Filipino artists expressed their dissent over the cyber libel conviction of Rappler CEO and executive editor Maria Ressa and former Rappler researcher-writer Reynaldo Santos Jr through their creative artworks.

On Monday, June 15, the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46 convicted the journalists of cyber libel in a case filed by businessman Wilfredo Keng in 2017.

Following the conviction, many artists made digital artworks of Maria Ressa featuring a favorite quote or slogan. Some of the artworks showed Ressa’s mouth taped shut, a metaphor for the silencing of critical dissenters and the press.

Ressa and Santos’ conviction was seen by many as a threat to freedom of expression, one of the tenets of the Philippine Constitution and democracy. 

One of Ressa’s most quoted lines from A Thousand Cuts – a documentary that followed press freedom under the Duterte administration – was used in the artworks as inspiration. In the documentary, Ressa talked about the death of the nation by “a thousand cuts” – the little cuts that weaken dissent.

View this post on Instagram

today journalist maria ressa was convicted of cyber libel charges in yet another blow to press freedom here in the philippines. but this isn’t new news, duterte has been spewing threats against rappler after its critical reporting on the administration’s war on drugs that had killed thousands. the philippines was not only deemed to be the most dangerous place to be an environment defender, but also one of the most dangerous to be a journalist since duterte took presidency. in this president’s own words: “just because you’re a journalist, you are not exempted from assassination” if their hands are clean, why are they threatened with the truth? @rappler #defendpressfreedom

A post shared by Issa (@issabarte.art) on Jun 14, 2020 at 8:41pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

The wrongful conviction on @maria_ressa @rappler is a dark message to us all. To every artist, student, teacher, peasant, activists, every woman, man dissenting, courageously fighting for truth, our freedom can be next. We must continue to resist and remain vigilant. #CourageON #HoldTheLine #DefendPressFreedom

A post shared by PowerInHerStory (@powerinherstory) on Jun 15, 2020 at 12:20am PDT

Freelance journalist Aie Balagtas See and her 13-year-old sister, meanwhile, produced “statement masks” with the words “Stand with Rappler.”

These masks were produced under their initiative, Project Busal, which aims to express the common sentiments of Filipinos amid the current political climate and the coronavirus pandemic. 

See said in a Facebook post: “The name is a play on words. Busal is Tagalog for gag and stifle, mask is another term for hide, while unmasking means uncovering and exposing.”

View this post on Instagram

Project BUSAL say STAND WITH RAPPLER In yet another blow to press freedom, a Manila court found Rappler CEO Maria Ressa and ex-reporter Rey Santos Jr guilty of cyber libel charges over an investigative report published in 2012. #DefendPressFreedom #StandWithRAPPLER

A post shared by BUSAL (@projectbusal) on Jun 14, 2020 at 10:13pm PDT

– Rappler.com