Maria Ressa

Maria A. Ressa (born October 2, 1963) is a Filipino-American journalist and author, best known for co-founding Rappler as its chief executive officer. She previously spent nearly two decades working as a lead investigative reporter in Southeast Asia for CNN.

Ressa was included in Time's Person of the Year 2018 as one of a collection of journalists from around the world combating fake news. She was arrested for "cyber libel" amid accusations of various instances of falsified news and corporate tax evasion on February 13, 2019. On June 15, 2020, a court in Manila found her guilty of cyberlibel. As an outspoken critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, her arrest was seen by the international journalistic community as a politically motivated act by the latter's government. Ressa is one of the 25 leading figures on the Information and Democracy Commission launched by Reporters Without Borders.

Ressa was born in Manila and grew up there until the age of 10, when her parents relocated to Toms River, New Jersey. There, she spent the rest of her childhood and adolescence, where she graduated from Toms River High School North.

Ressa studied molecular biology and theater as an undergraduate at Princeton University, where she graduated cum laude with a B.A. degree in English and certificates in theater and dance in 1986. For her degree, Ressa completed a 77-page long senior thesis titled "Sagittarius". She then was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study political theater at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Ressa's first job was at government station PTV 4. She then co-founded independent production company Probe in 1987, and simultaneously served as CNN's bureau chief in Manila until 1995. She then ran CNN's Jakarta bureau from 1995 to 2005. As CNN's lead investigative reporter in Asia, she specialized in investigating terrorist networks. She became an author-in-residence at the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) of Nanyang Technological University's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

From 2004, Ressa headed the news division of ABS-CBN, while also writing for CNN and The Wall Street Journal. She left the company in 2010, after deciding not to renew her contract.

She is the author of two books concerning the rise of terrorism in Southeast Asia: Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of Al-Qaeda's Newest Center (2011) and From Bin Laden to Facebook 10 Days of Abduction, 10 Years of Terrorism (2013).

She established the online news site, Rappler in 2012. It started as a Facebook page named MovePH in August 2011 and later evolved into a complete website on January 1, 2012. The site has since been a major news portal in the Philippines, receiving numerous local and international awards.

Ressa mistakenly stated in an interview with ABC News Australia that ABS-CBN has 11 million employees who will suffer as result of the broadcaster being forced off the air. She later apologized for the error.

Arrest

On January 22, 2018, Ressa appeared before the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), to comply with a subpoena over an online libel complaint. The subpoena was issued on January 10 to Ressa, together with former Rappler reporter Reynaldo Santos, and businessman Benjamin Bitanga. The subpoena was filed in October 2017 by a Filipino–Chinese national, Wilfredo Keng, after Rappler published a story on Keng's alleged lending of his sports utility vehicle to now-deceased Chief Justice Renato Corona as a bribed form of favor.

In November 2018, the Philippine government announced that it would charge Ressa and Rappler's parent company, Rappler Holdings Corporation, with tax evasion and failure to file tax returns. The charge concerns the investment in Rappler by the Omidyar Network in 2015. Ressa has denied wrongdoing, originally claiming that the foreign money was "donated" to its managers, later claiming the investments were in the form of securities. Rappler issued a statement denying any wrongdoing. The Philippines' Bureau of Internal Revenue, after a study of Ressa's explanation, ruled that Rappler's issuance of securities-generated capital gains, were taxable. It was concluded that Rappler evaded such payment amounting to ₱133 million in taxes.

On February 13, 2019, Philippine judge Rainelda Estacio—Montesa of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch #46 issued the arrest warrant for "cyber libel" against Ressa for an article published on Rappler. The officials of the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation fulfilled this warrant filed under the charge of cyber libel. The "cyber libel" law was passed after the article was originally published, so the charge was based on the technicality that fixing a typo might be considered "republishing". The arrest was live-streamed by many of Rappler's senior reporters on Facebook.

Due to time constraints, Ressa was unable to post bail amounting to ₱60,000 ($1,150) resulting in her arrest and confinement within the (holding) board room office of the NBI building. A total of six lawyers, two pro bono, were assigned to work on her case. On February 14, 2019, at the executor proceeding of Manila city Judge Maria Teresa Abadilla, Ressa gained freedom by posting bail at ₱100,000 ($1,900).

Ressa's arrest was criticized by the international community. As an outspoken critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, many viewed the arrest as being politically motivated. In contrast, the official spokesperson for the Malacañang Palace denied any government involvement in the arrest, asserting that the lawsuit against Ressa was set forth by a private individual, the plaintiff Wilfredo Keng.

Madeleine Albright, a former U.S. Secretary of State, issued an opinion stating that the arrest "must be condemned by all democratic nations". Similarly, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines called it "a shameless act of persecution by a bully government".

The National Press Club, an organization accused of having close ties to the Duterte regime and with a long history of criticising the Rappler organization, has stated that the arrest was not harassment, and that Ressa should not be relegated to "the altar of press freedom for martyrdom". It also warned against politicizing the issue.

Ressa's trial on charges of cyberlibel began in July 2019. In a statement she made on the first day of her trial, Ressa said: "This case of cyberlibel stretches the rule of law until it breaks."

Ressa was found guilty on June 15, 2020. In his ruling, Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa argued that Rappler "did not offer a scintilla of proof that they verified the imputations of various crimes in the disputed article... They just simply published them as news in their online publication in reckless disregard of whether they are false or not." Ressa faces between six months and six years in prison and a fine of ₱400,000 ($8,000). Ressa warned that her conviction could augur the end of freedom of the press in the Philippines. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque asked the media to "respect the decision" and affirmed the commitment of President Rodrigo Duterte to free speech, while opposition leader Leni Robredo described it as a "chilling development" and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said it “basically kills freedom of speech and of the press.”

Over the duration of her journalism career, Ressa has won an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Investigative Journalism, the Asian Television Awards, TOWNS – Ten Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service (Philippines) and TOYM Philippines.

• In 2010, Esquire magazine proclaimed Ressa as the Philippines' "sexiest woman alive", explaining: "Despite her size, fearless enough to write an eyewitness account of Al-Qaeda".
• In 2015, the Philippine Movie Press Club awarded Ressa with an Excellence in Broadcasting Lifetime Achievement award at the 29th PMPC Star Awards for Television.
• In 2016, she was listed as one of the eight most influential and powerful leaders in the Philippines by Kalibrr.
• In November 2017, Ressa, as the CEO of news organization Rappler, accepted the 2017 Democracy Award awarded by the National Democratic Institute to three organizations at its annual Democracy Award Dinner in Washington, D.C., entitled "Disinformation vs. Democracy: Fighting for Facts".
• In June 2018, Ressa became the recipient of the World Association of Newspapers's Golden Pen of Freedom Award for her work with Rappler.
• In December 2018, she was included in Time's Person of the Year 2018, as one of "The Guardians", a collection of journalists from around the world combating the "War on Truth". Ressa is the second Filipino to receive the title after former President Corazon Aquino in 1986.
• In April 2019, she was included in Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World.
• In May 2019, Ressa won the Columbia Journalism Award from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, the school's highest honor, "for the depth and quality of her work, as well as her courage and persistence in the field."
• In June 2019, Ressa received the Canadian Journalism Foundation's Tribute honour, which recognizes a journalist who has made an impact on the international stage.
• In October 2019, Ressa was named in the list of BBC 100 Women.