Maria Ressa says court's ruling on cyber libel case vs. her, Rappler staff extends to every Filipino
MANILA - Embattled Rappler chief Maria Ressa said Tuesday the impact of a Manila court's guilty verdict on her and a researcher of her news organization, for cyber libel extends to every Filipino.
Keng filed the case after he was described in the article as having a "shady past," citing an intelligence report and a prior article published on the Philippine Star. He has denied the allegations and claimed that Rappler did not give him a chance to air his side. They face between 6 months and 1 day to 6 years in jail, and were also ordered to pay P200,000 in moral damages and P200,000 in exemplary damages. Their lawyer said they would study their options, including filing a motion for reconsideration with the same court or filing an appeal with the Court of Appeals within 15 days.
“It took them 4 years to make me a criminal. And now I am. Whatever the messages that are seeded on social media, when the power comes after you top down, they can make it a reality. A lie told a million times becomes reality,” she said. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque had said President Rodrigo Duterte believes and supports freedom of speech and of the press.
“I’ve weathered a lot of attacks. These attacks are different because they are exponential lies on social media," she said.
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