CA affirms Maria Ressa’s conviction for cyber libel
THE Court of Appeals (CA) upheld its decision last July, finding Rappler CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Maria Ressa and former writer Reynaldo Santos Jr. guilty of cyber libel in connection with an article linking businessman Wilfredo Keng to alleged human trafficking and drug smuggling activities.
This was after the CA Fourth Division, in a 16-page resolution promulgated on October 10, 2022, denied the motion for reconsideration of Ressa and Santos, saying they had raised arguments that the appellate court had already resolved.
“We find no reason to belabor on the other arguments raised by the accused-appellants, particularly on the liability of accused-appellant Ressa as CEO and Executive Editor of Rappler, and the imposed penalties and damages, as they are mere reiterations that this Court had already ruled upon in the assailed Decision,” the resolution read in part.
Also, the CA pointed out that the conviction of Ressa and Santos was not a curtailment of “freedom of speech”, but to curb, if not to totally prevent, “the reckless use of cyber technology to malign someone.”
CA said “In conclusion, it [is] worthy and relevant to point out that the conviction of the accused-appellants for the crime of [cyber libel] punishable under the Cybercrime Law is not geared towards the curtailment of the freedom of speech, or to produce an unseemingly chilling effect on the users of cyberspace that would possibly hinder free speech.”
“On the contrary, We echo the wisdom of the Supreme Court in the Disini case that the purpose of the law is to safeguard the right of free speech, and to curb, if not totally prevent, the reckless and unlawful use of the computer systems as a means of committing the traditional criminal offenses,” the CA said in the resolution.
In its July 7, 2022 decision, the CA said that Ressa and Santos should have been “more circumspect in what they published (because) their words reverberate.”
“This case comes at a time when the credibility of journalists is needed more than ever, when their tried-and-tested practice of adhering to their own code of ethics becomes more necessary, so that their truth may provide a stronger bulwark against the recklessness in social media. Respondents, then, should have been more circumspect in what they published. They are not media practitioners with a lack of social following; their words reverberate,” the CA said.
The Manila Regional Trial Court found Ressa and Santos both guilty of cyber libel, reiterating that press freedom is not absolute.
In a 37-page decision, Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa of Branch 46 ruled that “freedom of the press should not be used as a shield for accountability.”
“With the evolution of government and society, it has been accepted and established that the exercise of the right to free speech and of the press is not absolute as it comes with [an] enormous responsibility to ensure that another person’s right is respected,” the decision said.
