MALACAÑANG denied Monday, December 3, that President Rodrigo Duterte had a hand in the arrest warrant issued against journalist Maria Ressa for tax evasion.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte is too busy to allow himself to dip his hands into the matter.
"He has too many obligations to fulfill. As we said, we can hardly cope up with this man. He's always working. We are amazed at how industrious he is," Panelo told reporters.
Ressa, chief executive officer and executive editor of Rappler, posted a P60,000 bail on Monday, December 3, after the Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 265 issued a warrant for her arrest for violation of Section 255 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997. The order was issued on November 28.
The Justice department earlier filed four separate tax evasion cases against Ressa and Rappler's holding firm before the Court of Appeals and another one before the Pasig City RTC Branch 265.
In a statement, Ressa slammed the "politically-motivated" charges against her to ensure her arrest.
"I surrendered to the court this morning, went through the process of what a criminal would go through, and filed bail without surrendering my right to question the Pasig court's jurisdiction over this tax case. This is a clear case of harassment," she said.
Panelo, however, denied that there was political persecution against Ressa on the part of the Duterte government.
He stressed that Ressa is entitled to legal remedies under the law, maintaining that the executive branch "never and will never" meddle in the judiciary's functions.
"How can they be persecuted? It's a question of tax evasion. You violate tax laws, and then you will be prosecuted. If you have a justifiable reason for so-doing or will introduce evidence to show that it's not true, then you will be acquitted," the Palace official said.
"If the judiciary finds probable cause for an information filed, then we have to respect the law on the matter. Everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence and that includes everybody, including Ms. Ressa," he added.
In his previous speeches, Duterte repeatedly slammed Rappler for allegedly peddling "fake" news about his administration.
Asked if the Palace fears the arrest will create a negative impact to the Duterte government, Panelo said "No."
"The stand of Malacañang is always: You violate the law, you will have to account for it. And the Constitution also says every person charged with the crime is presumed innocent, unless proven otherwise by competent evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. That has been the policy and will always be the policy of the Duterte administration," he said.
The National Union of Journalists, in a statement on December 2, warned government that arresting Ressa "will send a clear signal that the country's democracy is fast receding under a feckless administration that cannot abide criticism and free expression and will go to ridiculous lengths to muzzle all those it does not agree with."
International human rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) said this recent act of the Duterte administration against Ressa and Rappler "is not a surprising behavior by the administration, but is nonetheless abominable."
Carlos Conde, HRW Philippines Researcher, said these acts "are politically motivated" and part of the government's strategy to harass, threaten and intimidate critics." (With VLA/VoxPop Philippines)
