MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa and her online news company were acquitted Wednesday of tax evasion charges, which she said were among several legal cases used by former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to try to dismiss critical reports.
The Court of Tax Appeals ruled that prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ressa and Rappler Holdings Corp. evaded paying taxes in four cases after raising capital through partnerships with two foreign investors. “The defendant’s acquittal is based on the court’s findings … that the defendants did not commit the crime charged,” the court said in its ruling.
Rappler hailed the decision as a “triumph of facts over politics”.
“We thank the court for this fair decision and for recognizing that the fraudulent, false and unsubstantiated allegations made by the Bureau of Internal Revenue have no basis in fact,” Rappler said in a statement. “An adverse decision would have had far-reaching repercussions on both the media and the capital markets.”
“Today the facts prevail, the truth prevails, justice prevails,” Ressa said after the verdict was announced, holding back tears. “This acquittal, although it took a long time, is not just for Rappler. It is for every Filipino who has been wrongfully accused.”
Human Rights Watch said the tax charges under Duterte were “false and politically motivated” and the acquittal of Ressa and Rappler “is a victory for press freedom in the Philippines.”
Ressa won the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Russian journalist Dmitri Muratov in 2021 for fighting for the survival of their news organizations, defying government efforts to shut them down. They were honored for their “efforts to protect freedom of expression, which is a prerequisite for democracy and lasting peace.”
The tax charges against Ressa and Rappler stemmed from a separate charge by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Manila’s corporate watchdog, in 2018 that the news site violated a constitutional provision that prohibits foreign ownership and control on Philippine media companies by receiving funds from foreign investors Omidyar. Network and North Base Media through financial documents called Philippine Depositary Receipts.
The commission ordered Rappler shut down based on the allegation, which Rappler denied and appealed, saying it was a news company wholly owned and controlled by the Philippines.
The Tax Court ruled that the Philippine receipts issued by Rappler were not taxable, eliminating the basis for tax evasion charges brought by Justice Department prosecutors under Duterte.
“No gain or income was made by the defendant in the transactions in question,” the court stated.
There were no immediate reactions from the government and Duterte.
Ressa and Rappler face three other legal cases: a separate tax case filed by prosecutors in another court, her Supreme Court appeal of an online defamation conviction, and Rappler’s appeal of a restraining order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Scholarships.
Ressa faces up to six years in prison if he loses his appeal against the libel conviction, which was filed by a businessman who claimed a Rappler news report falsely linked him to murder, drug trafficking, human trafficking and other crimes.
Rappler, founded in 2012, was one of several Philippine and international news outlets that critically reported on Duterte’s brutal crackdown on illegal drugs, which left thousands of mostly petty drug suspects, and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, including extended roadblocks imposed by the police. which exacerbated poverty, caused one of the country’s worst recessions and sparked allegations of corruption in public drug procurement.
Massive drug crimes are being investigated by the International Criminal Court as a possible crime against humanity.
Duterte ended his often tumultuous six-year term last year and was replaced by Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son of a dictator who was ousted in a military-backed “people power” revolt in 1986 after an era marked by widespread human rights violations. and prey.
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