ADVERTISEMENT
Maria Ressa asks prosecutors to junk Wilfredo Keng’s 2nd cyber libel complaint
By NICOLE-ANNE C. LAGRIMAS,GMA NewsRappler CEO Maria Ressa has asked Makati prosecutors to dismiss the second cyber libel complaint filed against her by the businessman whose first allegations had led to her conviction last month.
In an 18-page counter-affidavit, the veteran journalist denied what she called "false and malicious allegations" in Wilfredo Keng's complaint.
Keng accused Ressa of cyber libel last February
over her tweet showing screenshots of a 2002 Philippine Star article in which the businessman was linked to the killing of a former Manila councilor.The story also said Keng was accused of other illegal activities.
Ressa tweeted the screenshots a few days after she was arrested over the first cyber libel case. The tweet was accompanied with this text: "Here's the 2002 article on the 'private businessman' who filed the cyberlibel case, which was thrown out by the NBI then revived by the DOJ. #HoldtheLine"
Rappler had cited the Philippine Star story in a 2012 report on vehicles allegedly used by former chief justice Renato Corona. Rappler also referenced an "intelligence report" in saying Keng was under surveillance for "human trafficking and drug smuggling."
Ressa and former Rappler researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr. were convicted of cyber libel last month over a 2014 "republication" of the 2012 story.
In her counter-affidavit, Ressa cited a 2014 Supreme Court ruling in which the court ruled that the online libel provision in the anti-cybercrime law is constitutional, but applicable only to the original authors of the libelous material, and not those who received or reacted to it.
ADVERTISEMENT
Because of this, Ressa said her sharing of the Philippine Star article does not amount to a publication or republication that may give rise to a distinct cyber libel complaint.
"As provided in the case of Disini, the undersigned or any person who shared the screenshots of the Philippine Star article may not be held liable for cyber libel until there is a law which penalizes reacting to, commenting in or sharing a social media post authored by another person," she said.
She argued that the tweet in question was "straightforward and informative" and was posted in response to questions about the case that had led to her arrest in 2019.
The Philippine Star article itself, she said, was "imbued with public interest" because it reported on the killing of a former government official. She said the article "is purely informative and does not contain defamatory imputations that may be considered libelous."
Philstar.com, a news website that republishes the Star's articles, took down the 2002 story from its platform in 2019, "after the camp of Mr. Wifredo Keng raised the possibility of legal action."
Ressa said Keng's lawyers had demanded that she take down the tweet and apologize. Ressa refused, saying she believed her tweet was "protected speech" and that the demand was an attempt to harass or intimidate her.
Keng's complaint is at the preliminary investigation stage, in which prosecutors determine if there is basis to file charges in court. — RSJ, GMA News