Tax evasion case a ‘clear form of intimidation, harassment’ – Rappler

FILE: Office of online news outlet Rappler (Photo by Charles Salazar/Rappler website)

Online news website Rappler on Friday, November 9, described the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) move to indict them for tax evasion and failure to file tax returns as a clear form of “intimidation” and “harassment.”

“We are not at all surprised by the decision, considering how the Duterte administration has been treating Rappler for its independent and fearless reporting,” Rappler said in an article published on their website.

“We maintain that this is a clear form of continuing intimidation and harassment against us, and an attempt to silence journalists,” it added.

On the same day, the Justice Department found probable cause to indict the holding company of the news outlet — Rappler Holdings Corporation (RHC) — its president Maria Ressa, and its independent certified public accountant Noel Baladiang for tax evasion.

This stemmed from the complaint filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in March, accusing RHC of failing to pay P133 million in taxes when it issued Philippine Depository Receipts (PDRs).

Rappler’s lawyer, Francis Lim, maintained that the RHC “has not evaded the payment of any tax obligations in relation to its sale of Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) to two foreign entities in 2015.

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“Clearly, this case has no legal leg to stand on because it presumes – wrongly – that Rappler is a dealer in securities that profited from a sale,” he added.

Lim also stressed that their camp will pursue all legal remedies and that they are certain that they will “prevail in the end.”

The resolution on the case was signed on October 2 but was only released to the media on Friday.

Rappler said their legal counsels went to the DOJ earlier that day to “check on the status of the complaint,” however, the docket office of the department’s National Prosecution Service (NPS) told their lawyers that the resolution was not yet forwarded to them although it was already penned last month.

To recall, it was in January when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked Rappler’s certificate of incorporation for allegedly violating the constitutional restriction on foreign ownership of mass media.