Palace to Maria Ressa: Be woman enough, stop blaming gov't

Malacañang on Friday advised Rappler CEO Maria Ressa to be "woman enough" to face the cyber libel case against her instead of accusing the government of abuse of power. 

Ressa claimed that her rights were violated when the government took her into custody on Wednesday. She said the Duterte administration is using the law as "weapon" to "intimidate and harass."

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo scoffed at Ressa's claims, saying it was actually the media executive who is "abusing" her power as a journalist.

"Excuse me, Maria. Abuse of power? You are the one abusing your power as a journalist. You are marshaling your colleagues to support you on the basis of misplaced and baseless cause. What is the cause? The cause is they are saying that the government is instilling fear because of the case filed against you. There is no connection whatsoever," Panelo said at a news conference.

"How can it even affect others when you are not even affected. You're smiling from the time you were arrested."

Panelo also said Ressa is "weaponizing" freedom of expression against the government.

"You have to be woman enough to face the complaint against you. Stop blaming the government," he said.

He also reiterated that the tax evasion case against Rappler and Ressa had nothing to with her work as a member of the press.

"Otherwise, if we will follow your logic, then journalists, commentators, reporters can no longer be sued because there will always be the accusation, the allegation, the perception that the government is trying to curtail your freedom of expression. That cannot be done," Panelo said.

Ressa was charged in connection with a story Rappler published in 2012—months before the Cybercrime Prevention Act was enacted—and updated in 2014. The story cites an "intelligence report" linking businessman Wilfredo Keng to human trafficking and drug smuggling.

Keng filed the complaint before the National Bureau of Investigation in 2017.

Despite initially deciding it will not pursue a case, the bureau transmitted its findings to the Department of Justice for preliminary investigation last year. State prosecutors indicted Ressa and the author of the story last month.

The case is now pending before a court in Manila which issued an arrest warrant against her early this week. She stayed overnight at the NBI headquarters following her arrest on Wednesday and posted bail the next day for her temporary freedom.

Journalists and media watchdog groups have called Ressa's arrest an act of harassment and a demonstration of the Duterte administration's "intolerance of criticism." The Palace rejected the allegations.

"The support obviously is coming from those who have been either ignorant of the facts or misinformed of the facts. They should have looked at the complaint," Panelo said. "She wants to be treated differently. That cannot be done." — MDM, GMA News