The IPI global network today welcomes the latest acquittal of IPI member and Nobel laureate Maria Ressa and five colleagues from Rappler on unfounded charges alleging violations of constitutional restrictions on foreign media ownership. We urge judicial authorities to dismiss the remaining cyber libel case against Ressa and to end the targeted legal harassment of one of the world’s most respected voices in journalism.
Ressa is the CEO and co-founder of online news site Rappler, which investigated and exposed corruption, violence, and increasing authoritarianism under former President Rodrigo Duterte’s regime. In response, she has faced a dangerous campaign of targeted harassment in the form of 23 legal cases, among other attacks.
The harassment against her includes tax evasion charges, the last of which Ressa was acquitted of in September 2023, and a cyber libel case, the only remaining charge against her. Ressa and former Rappler researcher Reynaldo Santos were sentenced to six years in prison in 2020 in that case, a verdict which is now under final appeal before the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
This most recent acquittal brings 22 out of 23 legal cases against Ressa to an end. The ownership case was part of former President Duterte’s continuous assault on the media, accusing news companies such as Rappler and ABS-CBN as tax evaders and being foreign owned. The Philippine Constitution mandates that media companies be 100% Filipino-owned. While Rappler maintains that it meets this criterion, in January 2018 the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked its license. However, the Court of Appeals voided the shutdown order in 2024, and on June 13, 2025 Ressa and her colleagues were acquitted in the case.
“The acquittal of Maria Ressa and her Rappler colleagues marks an important step towards safeguarding press freedom in the Philippines. It is the latest confirmation that the legal attacks on Maria Ressa and Rappler are baseless,” said Scott Griffen, IPI Executive Director. “However, the years-long targeted harassment of Maria Ressa is not yet over. Ressa’s conviction on trumped-up cyber libel charges must be tossed out. We urge the Philippine authorities to ensure that measures are put in place to ensure that journalists can do their jobs freely and that the weaponization of the law to undermine press freedom is ended.”
