Maria Ressa: Nobel prize winner cleared of tax evasion by Philippine court

The co-founder of online news outlet Rappler said the charges were politically motivated

Maria Ressa, chief executive of online news site Rappler, waves outside a court in Quezon City, in the Philippines, after she was acquitted of tax evasion on Wednesday. AFP

Broadcast journalist Cecilia Drilon, left, is accompanied by Ressa on arrival at Manila airport in June 2008. Drilon, two cameramen and a university professor were released by militants after nine days in captivity. AFP

Ressa addresses journalists in Manila after they took to the streets to protest against the Duterte administration's threats to shut down Rappler, in January 2018. AFP

Ressa arrives at the headquarters of the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila for questioning, in January 2018. AFP

The Rappler co-founder waves to photographers in Manila after posting bail, in March 2019. AFP

Ressa speaks at the 10th Women In The World summit in New York in April 2019. Getty

From left, Farai Chideya, Ms Ressa, Masha Gessen and Patrick Gaspard speak onstage at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, in January 2020. Getty

Ressa takes a selfie with the Nobel Committee and Dimitrij Muratov, who she shared the Nobel Peace Prize with, in Oslo in December 2021. AFP

Ressa and Mr Muratov of Russia pose with the Nobel Peace Prize award and medal in Oslo, in December 2021. AFP

Ressa in her office at Rappler's headquarters in Pasig, in July 2022. AFP

Ressa takes a selfie with, from left, Alina Stefanovic, Sarah-Christine Dallain, Oumda Haroun, Wanjiru Wahome, George Clooney, Amal Clooney, Dr Josephine Kulea and Justice Albie Sachs at the Clooney Foundation For Justice Inaugural Albie Awards in New York, in September 2022. Getty

Ressa poses with a copy of her book at a mall in Pasig, the Philippines, in December 2022. AFP

Ressa addresses journalists in Quezon City after her acquittal. EPA

Nobel prize winner Maria Ressa has been cleared of tax evasion by a court in the Philippines.

Ressa, who co-founded the Rappler news agency, worked for CNN for two decades and garnered a reputation for exposing politically motivated fake news.

“We need independent media that will hold power to account,” Ressa told reporters outside the court on Wednesday, after being cleared of allegations that her news agency failed to pay tax.

Ressa won the Nobel Prize in 2021 for defending press freedom and was an outspoken critic of former president Rodrigo Duterte, dismissing a series of lawsuits against her in recent years as politically motivated.

The court’s decision comes months after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr vowed to protect press freedom shortly after the killing of a veteran broadcaster in October.

His father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, shut down and took over major media outlets, including ABS-CBN Corporation, when he imposed martial law in 1972, only allowing several print media owned by his close associates to operate.

Ressa, who won international praise for investigations of alleged police abuses in Mr Duterte’s anti-drug efforts, still faces three other court cases.

One of them is her appeal against a cyber libel conviction that could lead to seven years in jail.

All these cases were filed during the Duterte’s administration time in office and journalism advocates say the case is part of a campaign of official intimidation.

Mr Duterte’s spokesman during his time in office has consistently denied his role in influencing the cases, calling the cyber libel conviction a result of “bad journalism” and “bad lawyering”.

Despite the favourable ruling for Ressa, her company Rappler is fighting an order from the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission to shut down for allegedly breaching rules against foreign ownership in mass media.

Rappler has denied the allegations in the past, accusing Mr Duterte’s government of harassment, intimidation and attempting to silence journalists.