The court victory ends four years and 10 months of trial of the case filed under the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte
MANILA, Philippines – A Pasig court acquitted Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa, and Rappler Holdings Corporation of tax evasion charges on Tuesday, September 12.
The decision was penned by Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 157 Presiding Judge Ana Teresa T. Cornejo-Tomacruz. Since the Pasig court handed down an acquittal, the prosecution can no longer appeal the criminal aspect of the case because it will amount to a violation of the double jeopardy rule, which is constitutionally protected.
Section 21 of the Constitution states: “No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense. If an act is punished by a law and an ordinance, conviction or acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to another prosecution for the same act.” The court victory ended four years and 10 months of trial of the case filed under the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte in November 2018. The case was filed two months after the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission issued a closure order against Rappler based on the claim of the Duterte administration that the company is foreign-owned.
Rappler is, however, a 100% Filipino-owned company – a point asserted by the newsroom in its appeal against the SEC order pending before the Court of Appeals .them of four tax-related charges in January 2023. In acquitting Ressa and RHC, the CTA said early this year that the Bureau of Internal Revenue had “no factual or legal basis” to file the civil and criminal complaints. The facts in the Pasig tax case were identical to the four charges junked by the CTA.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
insurance industryRAPPLER | Philippine & World News | Investigative Journalism | Data | Civic Engagement | Public Interest
Read more »
Moral implications of AIRAPPLER | Philippine & World News | Investigative Journalism | Data | Civic Engagement | Public Interest
Read more »
business groups in PHRAPPLER | Philippine & World News | Investigative Journalism | Data | Civic Engagement | Public Interest
Read more »
9/11 terror attacksRAPPLER | Philippine & World News | Investigative Journalism | Data | Civic Engagement | Public Interest
Read more »
GOCCsRAPPLER | Philippine & World News | Investigative Journalism | Data | Civic Engagement | Public Interest
Read more »
FAST BACKWARD: Kangaroo Court’s charge sheetTo create a semblance of an equitable judicial system, the communist rebels look up to the ‘kangaroo courts’ as the agencies that would define justice in the underground movement. Because of its self-styled role as protector of what is right, the court at times issues indictments. In June 2000, t
Read more »