Rappler chief Maria Ressa and former researcher Reynaldo Santos, Jr. on Monday (June 29) filed a motion for partial reconsideration before a Manila court to appeal their cyber libel conviction.
Ressa and Santos’ lawyers from the Free Legal Assistance Group submitted a 132-page motion to the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46, citing at least 13 alleged errors that Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa committed in her verdict.
“The court’s bare assertion, absent any support from the trial Record or any applicable or even persuasive case law, is constitutionally impermissible,” the motion read. “The pronouncement amounts to a ‘judicial ambush’ that so offends every notion of judicial propriety and basic fairness as to lend itself to nullity.”In the motion, they also questioned the court’s decision to apply Republic Act No.
The motion also pointed out that the Supreme Court imposed a temporary restraining order on RA 10175 — the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 –from October 9, 2012 to April 22, 2014, making it inoperative at the time the update was made on the article.The motion also faulted Montesa for her “unwarranted and prejudicial” characterization of Ressa’s title as Rappler’s executive editor.
During the trial, Chay Holifeña, chief of Rappler’s investigative team, explained that while Ressa is seen as the head of the organization and is involved in the company’s finances, she is not heavily involved in their day-to-day operations.They also maintained that there is no proof that Ressa and Santos “willfully, unlawfully, and knowingly re-published” the contested article.
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