The Court of Appeals (CA) has granted the Nobel Peace Prize awardee and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa to travel abroad, attend a program at Harvard University in Boston, and at the same time, visit her parents in Florida.
In its resolution, the Court of Appeals 8th division, which is hearing her appeal on her cyber libel conviction, allowed Ressa to travel from Oct. 31, 2021, to Dec. 2, 2021, deeming it as "necessary and urgent."
CA also required Ressa to post a PHP500,000 travel cash bond and submit her updated itinerary including her intended visit to her parents in Florida. Upon her return, Ressa must report to the court in writing within 24 hours from arrival.
Aside from attending lectures, Ressa also indicated in her latest motion that she would be visiting her parents in Florida, which the CA found as a humanitarian reason to grant her motion.
"Certainly, one’s legitimate intention to be reunited with her/his parents cannot be doubted," the CA said.
The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) tried to block Ressa's travel bid stating that there is no "absolute necessity and urgency" on her travel to the US. It added that her dual citizenship makes her a flight risk.
However, CA noted Ressa's "undisputed compliance with the conditions imposed by the court a quo on her previous travels shows that she is not a flight risk."
In August 2020, the appellate court denied her request to attend events in the United States such as the conferment of an award from the National Press Club and panel discussions on a documentary where she was featured.
The CA also junked her appeal to visit her ailing mother in December 2020, stating that "the medical abstract lacks any indication that Ressa is urgently needed in the USA."
