Maria Ressa a flight risk – CA
The Court of Appeals (CA) on Wednesday denied the plea to travel to the United States of Maria Ressa, chief executive officer of online media outfit Rappler.
In a seven-page resolution, the court’s Special 14th Division ruled to deny Ressa’s motion to travel, saying that she failed to prove the trip is necessary and that she is a flight risk.
The division is chaired by Justice Danton Bueser with Justices Geraldine Fiel-Macaraig and Carlito Calpatura as members.
It said that while the right to travel is a constitutional right, there are restrictions under the law.
“While the Constitution guarantees the freedom of movement, it also recognizes that such liberty is not an absolute right. For instance, a person facing a criminal indictment and provisionally released on bail does not have an unrestricted right to travel because of the necessity of safeguarding the system of justice,” the court stated.
In her Notice of Appeal with the CA, Ressa assailed the Manila Regional Trial Court’s (RTC) verdict finding her and her former researcher and writer Reynaldo Santos Jr. guilty of cyberlibel.
Ressa is out on bail, but a hold departure order bans her from leaving the country.
Among other things, the multiawarded journalist wants to attend the theatrical release and panel discussions of the documentary film “A Thousand Cuts.”
“A Thousand Cuts” is a Filipino American production highlighting the conflicts between the press and the Duterte administration, with the focus on Ressa’s case.
The appeals court also gave weight to the claim of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) that Ressa need not be physically present at her speaking engagements and awards to be received in the US because these can be done through video conferencing.
The OSG noted that Ressa also faces tax evasion charges and a second cyberlibel complaint, making her a flight risk.
“Indeed, video conferencing and other technological applications may allow her to fulfil her duties as a media practitioner. In fact, she utilized such modes in the past when she accommodated foreign interviews and joined international conferences even after the court a quo had convicted her of cyberlibel. Verily, Ressa may still participate in the theatrical release and panel discussions of the documentary ‘A Thousand Cuts’ without leaving the Philippines,” the appeals court ruled.
In her Very Urgent Motion for Permission to Travel Abroad, Ressa indicated that she has to be in the US from August 1 to 31 for a series of commitments.
Her itinerary includes a trip to Boston, Massachusetts to support the US theatrical release of the “A Thousand Cuts,” and to Washington D.C. on August 23 for her conferment by the National Press Club of the 2020 International Press Freedom Award.
She also said that from August 25 to September 18, she would be staying in the US, as she would like to take this opportunity to meet with some of those who had invited her earlier.
Ressa promised to leave Washington D.C. on September 18 and to return to Manila on September 19.
On June 15, Manila RTC Branch 46 Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa ruled that Ressa and Santos violated Republic Act 10175, or the “Cybercrime Prevention Act,” for imputing that Wilfredo Keng committed a series of crimes, including human and drug trafficking, in an article published in 2012.
Ressa and Santos were sentenced to six months to six years in prison. They were also ordered to pay Keng P200,000 each for moral and exemplary damages.
Keng pressed charges against Ressa and Santos in 2017. The Rappler article claimed that Keng lent then-Chief Justice Renato Corona his sports utility vehicle.
The court pointed out that Rappler did not publish Keng’s side or verified the story beforehand. Rappler said Ressa was not involved in the writing of the story.
Source: TheManila Times
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