MANILA, Philippines – International groups challenged the Marcos administration to withdraw cases pursued by the previous Duterte administration against Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, expressing dismay that the Nobel laureate continued to face the prospect of imprisonment over a cyber libel case.

Ressa and former Rappler researcher-writer Reynaldo Santos Jr. had earlier sought to appeal a cyber-libel conviction handed down by a Manila regional trial court in June 2020, though the Court of Appeals denied the journalists’ request in a decision last October 10.

The case will now head to the Supreme Court for a review, where Ressa and Santos will ask the High Court to reverse their conviction.

“We call on President Marcos to show the world that he rejects the Duterte-era persecution and prosecution of journalists and independent media by immediately withdrawing all charges and cases against Ressa, her co-accused, and her Manila-based news outlet Rappler,” the Hold the Line Coalition steering committee said.

The group made the statement on behalf of 80 international organizations which have banded together to support independent media in the Philippines and defend Ressa.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Secretary-General Christophe Deloire backed the group’s call, saying it stood in solidarity with Ressa.

“RSF is dismayed by the Court of Appeals’ failure to dismiss the ludicrous case against Maria Ressa, which will now proceed to the Supreme Court. We stand in full solidarity with Maria in her battle to #HoldtheLine for independent media in the Philippines!” he said.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Asia Society in New York last September 24, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appeared to take a hands-off approach, saying he would not interfere with Ressa’s cases.

“You know we have a very clear delineation of powers in our political system, very much styled after the American system where we have the executive, the judiciary, and the legislature. And they are co-equal. And so it is highly improper for the executive to interfere in either the legislature or the judiciary,” Marcos said

Ressa and Santos’ cyber libel case has tested the bounds of the Philippines’ cybercrime law, with the two journalists’ conviction raising the prescription period of the country’s cybercrime law to 12 years, as opposed to only a year.

Aside from affirming the Manila court’s ruling, the CA also imposed a longer prison sentence on Ressa and Santos, originally set for six months and one day as minimum to six years as maximum. The appeals court added eight months and 20 days to the maximum imprisonment penalty.

The Hold the Line coalition described the case among the most urgent of the 7 active cases Ressa and Rappler were facing.

It urged: “President Marcos should begin by ending his government’s opposition to Ressa’s appeal against her conviction on spurious criminal cyber libel charges, which were pursued and prosecuted by the State despite the Philippine Supreme Court’s warning that the country’s criminalization of libel is ‘doubtful’.”

In an earlier statement, Ressa said she was “disappointed” but not surprised by the ruling. “This is a reminder of the importance of independent journalism holding power to account. Despite these sustained attacks from all sides, we continue to focus on what we do best – journalism,” she said. – Rappler.com