Rappler’s Maria Ressa arrested for alleged Anti-Dummy Law violation

Rappler chief executive officer (CEO) Maria Ressa arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Friday, March 29. (Photo by NAIA Media Affairs Division via PNA)

Maria Ressa, the chief executive officer (CEO) and executive editor of news outfit Rappler, was arrested on Friday, March 29, for her alleged violation of Anti-Dummy Law.

Judge Acerey Pacheco of the Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 265 issued the arrest warrant on Thursday. It was served by two female police officers to Ressa upon her arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 on Friday morning.

Authorities brought Ressa to the Pasig City Police headquarters where she underwent booking procedure.

Rappler reported that their head’s co-respondents in the charge, managing editor Glenda Gloria and five other members of Rappler’s 2016 board, already posted a P90,000 bail on Wednesday. Ressa was not able to pay her bail since she was not in the country when the Pasig Prosecutor’s Office slapped the charges against them on Tuesday.

Prior to her arrival in the country from her San Francisco trip, Ressa tweeted, “Landing in a short while to face my latest arrest warrant and the 7th time I will post bail.”

“#HoldTheLine we pledge to not just hold power to account but I will mark every violation of my rights under the PH Constitution (like harassment cases to try to intimidate @rapplerdotcom!),” she continued.

The anti-dummy case stemmed from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) ruling revoking Rappler’s certificate of incorporation for allegedly violating constitutional restrictions on ownership of mass media entities by issuing Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) to foreign investor Omidyar Network.

Rappler, however, argued that PDRs “do not indicate ownership,” stressing that their investors only “invest but they don’t own.”

“Rappler remains 100% Filipino-owned,” it had said.

This was not the only case lodged against Rappler’s chief. Ressa was arrested in February over a cyber libel case. She was released from detention at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after she posted bail of P100,000.

[READ: Rappler CEO walks out of detention after posting bail]