Ressa, Rappler acquitted of tax evasion

Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa and Rappler Holdings Corporation were acquitted by a Pasig court in a tax evasion case filed in connection with their supposed failure to declare tax in 2015.

Atty. Francis Lim, counsel of Ressa, said his client and RHC were acquitted by the Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 157 of violation of Section 255 of the National Internal Revenue Code (Tax Code) for the failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

All five tax evasion charges filed against the respondents have been junked by the Pasig RTC which was filed during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Ressa, 59 years old, shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov in 2021. She has been fighting multiple charges filed during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

The journalist and Rappler had faced five government charges of tax evasion stemming from the 2015 sale of Philippine depositary receipts, which is a way for companies to raise money from foreign investors.

In January, the Court of Tax Appeals First Division found Ressa and RHC not guilty on three counts of failure to supply the correct information and one count of tax evasion, amounting to P141 million worth of taxes, including surcharge and interest.

The fifth charge was heard by a different court, which cleared her and Rappler of wrongdoing yesterday.

However, Ressa and Rappler face an uncertain future as they battle another two court cases, despite the acquittals.

Ressa and a former colleague Rey Santos Jr. are appealing a cyber libel conviction that carries a nearly seven-year jail sentence.