The Court of Appeals (CA) has denied the motion for reconsideration appeal filed by Rappler CEO and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa and former researcher-writer Reynaldo Santos to reverse their cyber libel conviction.
In a 16-page decision dated Oct. 10, the appellate court’s 4th Division said the motion for reconsideration filed by Ressa and Santos is “unmeritorious” for failure to present new arguments that would warrant a reversal of its earlier ruling.
“A careful and meticulous review of the motion for reconsideration reveals that the matter raised by the accused-appellants had already been exhaustively resolved and discussed in the Assailed Decision,” the CA said in the decision penned by Associate Justice Roberto Quiroz.
Ressa and Santos filed a motion for reconsideration (MR) on the CA's July decision regarding the cyber libel complaint filed by businessman Wilfredo Keng regarding a 2012 article written by Santos on the vehicle that he lent the late chief justice Renato Corona.
Aside from affirming the Manila court’s ruling to convict Ressa and Santos, the CA also earlier lengthened the maximum prison time to up to six years, eight months and 20 days. The minimum was set at six months and one day.
In its latest ruling, the CA reiterated that Ressa’s argument that the provisions on cyber libel and its penalty were applied ex post facto were “unavailing.”
"In the same manner, the argument that the provisions on cyber libel and its penalty were applied ex post facto on the theory that the correction of one letter in the original article published on May 29, 2012 is too unsubstantial and cannot be considered as a republication committed on February 19, 2014, is unavailing," the CA said.
"Such republication on February 19, 2014, is the act which accused-appellants were charged for, and was lawfully prosecuted when the provision on cyber libel was declared valid and constitutional by the Supreme Court through its decision in the Disini case dated February 11, 2014," the CA said.
In a statement, lawyer Theodore “Ted” Te said Ressa and Santos will elevate the case to the Supreme Court.
Ressa also expressed disappointment but said she is “sadly not surprised” by the development.
“The ongoing campaign of harassment and intimidation against me and Rappler continues, and the Philippines legal system is not doing enough to stop it,” her statement read.
"This is a reminder of the importance of independent journalism holding power to account," she added.
