Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, one of Duterte’s fiercest critics, remains defiant despite move to arrest her
- Her news site, Rappler, has been investigated by police after challenging extrajudicial killings in Duterte’s war on drugs
- The case has become a symbol of the deterioration of democracy under the current administration and a blow for press freedom
Maria Ressa, the editor of Philippine online news site Rappler and one of the most outspoken critics of President Rodrigo Duterte, has refused to back down despite a warrant issued for her arrest on charges of tax fraud.
Ressa turned herself over to the authorities at Pasig city regional trial court in Manila this morning and was released on bail of 60,000 Philippine pesos (US$1,150). She is due to be arraigned on Friday.
“I surrendered to the court, but that doesn’t mean I accept its jurisdiction,” she told the South China Morning Post in a telephone interview.
“Part of the reason the government is attacking us is that we have shown data-based evidence that officials were complicit in the spreading of hate.
“We’ve called a spade a spade. When I ask why are they targeting us, this tells me that we must be doing something right.”
Rappler has been vocal in holding the Duterte administration to account, particularly over the deadly war on drugs which has claimed thousands of lives in the Philippines.
The official number of deaths is 5,000 people, but human rights organisations estimate the true figure could be in the tens of thousands.