MANILA -- Press freedom is alive and well in the Philippines, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said Friday, following criticisms from various groups after the arrest of Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa.
In a statement, Andanar said Ressa's case is not an exception in the normal threats’ journalists go through when performing their jobs.
"Not a few journalists have faced, or are facing, libel charges for articles they have written and caused to be published. And they go through the process of getting arrested, posting bail, and going to trial without fanfare and in many cases, without adequate legal assistance. This case of Rappler and Ms. Ressa is not an isolated one," he said.
Andanar said the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) is regularly holding discussions with media groups to discuss their security concerns and to come up with a unified stance for the decriminalization of libel.
"The impulsive conclusion that their non-exemption from the judicial process constitutes a blanket attack on press freedom in the Philippines is a blatant disregard for the earnest efforts of the very stakeholders to come up with programs aimed at safeguarding it," he said.
Andanar said both Ressa and the complainant, businessman Wilfredo Keng, in the case against her shall be considered.
"An adversarial proceeding always involves parties on opposing sides. In this particular case, we must bear in mind that while Ms. Ressa and Mr. Reynaldo Santos Jr., the writer of the article in question, stand accused for libel on one hand, there is a private complainant (Keng) on the other, who felt aggrieved by the publication," he said.
Andanar said both Ressa and Keng have their respective rights on the case.
"As a corollary, this resort to the judicial process is well within Mr. Keng’s right to prosecute his claim and in fact also serves as the perfect opportunity for Ms. Ressa and Mr. Santos to exercise their right to present evidence that will exonerate them from the charges when the case proceeds to trial. There are available remedies that they can exhaust to protect their rights and certainly they are not lacking in legal advice from their formidable team of lawyers," he said.
The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46 on Wednesday issued a warrant of arrest against Ressa and Santos after being charged under the provision on content-related offenses, which include libel committed through a computer system or similar means.
This stemmed from a cyber libel complaint filed by Keng in October 2017, who was named by Santos in the article titled, "CJ using SUVs of 'controversial' businessmen", as the owner of a sports utility vehicle used by the late Chief Justice Renato Corona.
The article was published in 2012 and updated in 2014.
Ressa was released after posting PHP100,000 bail on Thursday, not long after she publicly denounced the Philippine justice system for allegedly persecuting her. (PNA)
