Philippines: journalist Maria Ressa to turn herself in after police issue warrant
Editor of independent news website Rappler vows to challenge charges of tax fraud that she says are being used to intimidate her
Maria Ressa, the editor of Philippine online news website Rappler, will turn herself into the authorities on Monday after a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Last month the government announced they were charging Ressa and Rappler with five counts of tax fraud, charges that Ressa said were trumped up in an attempt to “harass and intimidate” the news organisation, which has been highly critical of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
On Sunday night, Ressa confirmed to the Guardian that a warrant for her arrest had been issued and that she would surrender to the authorities first thing on Monday morning and post bail.
I will continue to hold the government accountable
Maria Ressa
The warrant was issued on Ressa’s return to the Philippines after several weeks travelling to receive multiple awards for her work with Rappler, including the 2018 Knight International Journalism award and this year’s prestigious Press Freedom award given by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“I’m going to challenge the process and I’m going to challenge the charges,” Ressa said on Sunday, moments after landing in Manila airport. “I will continue to hold the government accountable.”
The Department of Justice confirmed last week it was charging Rappler with three counts of failure to file returns, and one count of tax evasion, all charges that Ressa denies. The charges carry heavy fines and jail sentences of up to 10 years.
The move to arrest Ressa is the latest in what many have seen as a direct attack by Duterte’s regime on news organisations that have been critical of his government, in particular his war on drugs which has taken an estimated tens of thousands of lives over the past two years.
Rappler was among the main news organisations challenging the extrajudicial killings by the police and subsequently has been the subject of seven government investigations, with their political reporter also banned from the presidential palace.
The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines issued a statement damning the warrant issued for Ressa’s arrest. They stated: “Arresting Maria will send a clear signal that the country’s democracy is fast receding under a feckless administration that cannot abide criticism and free expression and will go to ridiculous lengths to muzzle all those it does not agree with.”
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