GROUP 5 POSITION PAPER: CYBER LIBEL CASE AGAINST MARIA RESSA

In a world where the Digital Age is prevailing, every content found on the Internet
is deemed powerful, as such may instill a false belief in the minds of the people and cause
confusion. In order to prevent events like this, laws regarding the appropriate behavior
while using the Internet as a medium for writing and publishing articles were made, and
among these is a law against libel. Article 353, Section I of the Revised Penal Code
defines libel as a “public and malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real
or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance tending to cause
the dishonor, discredit, or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the
memory of one who is dead.” To put it in simpler terms, libel is a written defamation.
Recently, a case has been making noise, since people all over the world,
especially journalists, have been concerned with the threats to press freedom that it
imposes. The case revolves around a published article, dated way back May 29, 2012,
about the former Chief Justice Renato Corona using a different luxury vehicle despite
being given his own car by the Supreme Court. What makes this case more interesting is
that the vehicle in question, which is a black Chevrolet Suburban, was found to be
registered under the name of Wilfredo Keng, a businessman who is infamous for being
linked to issues about illegal drugs and human trafficking. In relation to this matter, an
investigative report was done to support the article and add in more details regarding
Keng. Months after the publication of the said article, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of
2012 was signed in September. Under this Act, cyber libel is now punishable by law.
Years have passed and there was no complaint filed about the published article in 2012.
Some time in 2014, the said article was updated, since there was a misspell in the word
‘evasion’ and changes in the URL of the pictures used. Three years later, in October 2017,
Wilfredo Keng filed a libel case to the NBI’s cybercrime division against Rappler. The
author of the published article, Reynaldo Santos Jr., and Rappler’s CEO Maria Ressa
responded to the filed case with counter-affidavits stating that the article was published
four months prior to the enactment of R.A. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of
2012 and that since cyber libel is of the same nature with the crime libel in the Revised
Penal Code, but is only done within the cyberspace, its prescriptive period is only one
year. On February 22, 2018, the NBI dumped the filed case against Rappler after having
evaluating the circumstances and said that the criminal liability of one year has lapsed,
but after six days, Wilfredo Keng submitted a supplemental affidavit, saying that crimes
falling under the Sec. 4(c) (4) of R.A. 10175 have a prescriptive period of fifteen (15) years
instead of only one. From this event, numerous affidavits were submitted by Ressa to
dismiss the allegations thrown at her. There were also countless opinions shared and
heard regarding this issue, but what does this matter have to do with us? or to the
condition of journalism here in our country? What is this concern trying to impart to us?
After reading several online articles about the cyber libel case of Rappler, we can
say that we oppose to the filing of the cyber libel charges against Ressa. There were two
odd things that we’ve noticed during the whole process of trying to convict her. First is
when Keng filed a cyber libel case against Ressa. Five years have passed but he only
decided to file the case in 2017? What motivated him to do so and why only during that
time? He could’ve just filed the case after R.A. 10175 was passed as a law, but what? He
waited five years before doing so. Isn’t it unusual right from the very start? Second is
wherein when the RTC Branch 46 issued the arrest warrant for Ressa and Santos Jr, the
NBI have waited for around 5pm before serving the warrant, so that the accused cannot
post a bail and get to spend the night in detention. From there, we can say that the
government would really want to let her feel that in this country, the powerful ones get to
rule and bend the law. They wanted her to feel the power of the people above and make
her think that this is a clear sign that she should know who she’s dealing with. According
to the article published by Time, entitled, “The Message Behind Maria Ressa’s Cyber
Libel Arrest”, Amnesty International called her arrest as “brazenly politically motivated”.
This act clearly sends the public a warning that we should be careful in everything that
we do, most especially if we are going to criticize the government, since they are very
powerful. They are doing everything they can to silence the media and prevent them from
letting the public of the dark truths of the system.
This whole issue is of great concern for press freedom in the country as the
government is starting to take down those who are criticizing and opposing them. We live
in a world where people cannot freely express their opinion regarding the foul system of
the government for the fear that they might be the ones who are next on their “wanted”
list. Even Vice President Leni Robredo said that Maria Ressa’s arrest simply serves as a
“warning” for the journalists out there, who are criticizing the administration. “When I saw
the pictures, I felt like it was a warning for the members of media that they would suffer
the same fate if they follow what Rappler is doing,” said Robredo. Her statement was then
supported by senatoriable candidate Chel Diokno, emphasizing on the importance of
media in giving the public truth and factual news. “When the truth is gone, we cannot
make informed decisions. That is why the media is important because we cannot simply
say free expression if there is no information,” he said. Indeed, we will not be able to know
the truths about the society we live in, if it wasn’t for the dedication and effort of the
journalists in our country. People who are willing to take on the risks, just to deliver the
facts that the people deserve to know. If there are people who are out there, risking their
lives to give us the truth, are we just going to hide in the dark and take in all the information
that they give us? Would we just allow the administration to silence us using their power
and be blind with the things going on around us? In a world where almost everyone is
under the control of the government, are you willing to be just like Maria Ressa?

REFERENCES
Mercado, N. A. (2019, March 31). Maria Ressa's arrest a 'warning' to journalists, says
Robredo. Retrieved March 31, 2019, from
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1101687/maria-ressas-arrest-a-warning-to-journalists-
says-robredo
Reilly, K. (2019, February 21). The Message Behind Maria Ressa's Cyber Libel Arrest.
Retrieved March 31, 2019, from http://time.com/5534382/maria-ressa-cyber-libel-
arrest/
Paris, J. (2019, February 14). TIMELINE: Rappler's cyber libel case. Retrieved March 31,
2019, from https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/223460-timeline-cyber-libel-case
Rappler.com. (2019, February 16). FAQs: What you need to know about Rappler's cyber
libel case. Retrieved March 31, 2019, from https://www.rappler.com/about-
rappler/about-us/223545-frequently-asked-questions-cyber-libel-case
Jr, R. S. (2012, May 29). CJ using SUVs of 'controversial' businessmen. Retrieved March
31, 2019, from https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/6061-cj-using-suvs-of-
controversial-businessmen
Chan, J. G., & Chan Robles & Associates. (n.d.). The Revised Penal Code of the
Philippines. Retrieved March 31, 2019, from
http://www.chanrobles.com/revisedpenalcodeofthephilippinesbook2.htm#.XKCjnFM
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