Palace: US’ ‘interference’ in Rappler CEO’s case not good for its friendship with PH
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque. INQUIRER file photo / DEXTER CABALZA
MANILA, Philippines — The United States’ “interference” in the case of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa is not good for its friendship with the Philippines, Malacañang said Wednesday.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque issued the statement after the US expressed concern over the guilty verdict handed down against Ressa and researcher-writer Reynaldo Santos Jr. in a cyber libel case.
“Kami po’y merong gumagana na sistemang legal. At the time na bumalik na po sana yung init ng pagkaibigan ng Amerika, at sabi nga ni Presidente, wag muna nating tuluyang i-terminate ang VFA [Visiting Forces Agreement], itong mga pulang ito ay hindi po nakakatulong sa pagkakaibigan ng Pilipinas at ng Amerika dahil puwede pong isipin ng Presidente, itong panghihimasok, ito po ay isang hatol na hindi katiwa-tiwala ang mga hukuman sa Pilipinas at hindi nman po tatanggapin ng ating Presidente yan,” Roque said in an interview over Radyo Inquirer.
(We have a working legal system. The warm friendship between America almost returned, since the President said the VFA termination would be suspended. But these criticisms are not helping with the Philippines and America’s friendship. The President may think that this interference is a judgment that our justice system cannot be trusted. The President will not accept that.)
The Philippine government, upon the President’s orders, sent a notice to the US Embassy of the VFA termination’s suspension, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. earlier said.
Roque added that the Philippines “borrowed” America’s jurisprudence on libel laws.
“Ang sagot ko po sa mga Amerikano, ginamit po namin, hiniram namin ang jurisprudence ninyo…Wag po kayo magreklamo dahil in-apply lang ng hukom yung jurisprudence na kinakailangan naman, merong some kind of diligence in reporting, hindi pupuwedeng bara-bara,” he said.
(My answer to the Americans is that we used, we borrowed your jurisprudence. Don’t complain since the judge used the jurisprudence where some kind of diligence in reporting was needed.)
In a statement, US Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus called for “resolution of the case in a way that reinforces the U.S. and Philippines’ long shared commitment to freedom of expression, including for members of the press.”
Former US State Secretary Hillary Clinton had also slammed the Manila court’s guilty verdict, saying Ressa was convicted “for doing her job.”
Ressa and Rappler’s former researcher-writer Reynaldo Santos Jr. on Monday were found guilty of cyber libel over a story published in May 2012 which claimed that former Chief Justice Renato Corona was using a Chevrolet Suburban sports utility vehicle found to be registered to Keng.
The report also cited an intelligence report that allegedly stated the businessman had been under surveillance by the National Security Council for alleged involvement in “human trafficking and drug smuggling.”
Roque had denied that President Rodrigo Duterte had a hand in the verdict, noting that he supports press freedom and that he never filed a libel complaint against journalists.
Meanwhile, Ressa said that the guilty verdict against her and Santos was not only a blow to Rappler but to every citizen, noting “freedom of the press is the foundation of every single right” a Filipino has.
