Court defers Maria Ressa arraignment for cyberlibel
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Fri, 01 Mar 2019 03:07:59 +0000
THE court hearing the cyberlibel charge of Rappler chief Maria Ressa has postponed the arraignment pending her motion to quash.
Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 46 gave the prosecution, the Department of Justice (DoJ) 10 days to comment on the motion, five days for Rappler to reply and another five for the same department to submit a rejoinder so it could come up with a resolution.
Ressa was accompanied by aspiring senator and De La Salle University-College of Law Dean Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno, chairman of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), and former Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te.
Charged with Ressa were researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr., and Rappler Inc.
Ressa, through FLAG, moved to dismiss the Information or the charge sheet for cyberlibel for allegedly violating The Cybercrime Prevention Act or Republic Act 10175 filed by the DoJ, which stemmed from a resurrected complaint by businessman Wilfredo Keng in connection with an article written by Santos and posted by Rappler on May 29, 2012, titled “CJ using SUVs of ‘controversial’ businessmen,” four months before the law was enacted.
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