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islander:

She exposed Duterte's drug war, now she faces prison in the Philippines

By James Griffiths, CNN
Updated 2037 GMT (0437 HKT) December 1, 2018



(CNN)Images and stories from Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal war on drugs have shocked audiences worldwide, as bodies have stacked up in cities across the country, many of them victims of extrajudicial and vigilante killings.

While the government has hardly been shy about its intention to go after both dealers and users, hard data on the number of killings has often been tough to come by. One indispensable source of information, both for the international media and readers in the Philippines has been the upstart news site Rappler, which is now facing a reckoning with the government it has been a dogged check upon.

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islander:

Rappler CEO Maria Ressa is due to land in Manila this weekend, when supporters fear she could be arrested, after she and her company were formally indicted on multiple counts of tax evasion this week, charges critics say are politically motivated and designed to silence independent media in the southeast Asian country.

The formal accusations bring with them a potential 10-year prison penalty under Philippines tax law.


Shocking images like this one have become a common sight due to Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's two-year "drug war."

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islander:

'Ridiculous'

In January, the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) temporarily revoked Rappler's registration on the basis that it had violated the country's constitution over foreign ownership rules.

Philippines officials claim Rappler and Ressa failed to declare about $3 million in 2015 on tax returns from an investment by the Omidyar Network, a fund created by eBay founder and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar.

At the time, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called the charges a "direct assault on freedom of the press." The rights group Amnesty International, meanwhile, claimed it was "an alarming attempt to silence independent journalism."

Ressa, an award-winning journalist who previously served as a CNN bureau chief in Manila, has defended Rappler's ownership structure as "100% Filipino," and maintained the charges against her company are politically motivated.

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islander:

"I've long run out of synonyms for the word 'ridiculous.' The basis of this case is that Rappler is classified as a dealer in securities. I am definitely not a stockbroker," Ressa told CNN Thursday, after news of the charges broke.

Shawn Crispin, CPJ Southeast Asia representative, said the charges were a "blatant form of legal harassment and underline President Rodrigo Duterte's desperate attempt to stifle its critical reporting on his government."

Duterte's office has denied he is involved in the prosecutions against Rappler, but the President has previously sparred with the company's employees, personally barring Ressa and reporter Pia Ranada from Malacanang Palace, his official residence, over their coverage of his administration.

Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said the case sent "a chilling message to journalists and human rights activists (in the Philippines) that they will be targeted for exposing his murderous campaign."

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Rappler CEO: Stripping of license is political 03:00

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islander:

Drug war

At least 5,000 people have been killed as a result of Duterte's drug war, his landmark and most controversial policy. That figure is the official police count, however, and opposition lawmakers and rights groups estimate the true death toll could be in the tens of thousands.

Those killed have included children and innocents, as well as ordinary drug users and criminals executed extrajudicially.

Among Philippines media, Rappler in particular has focused on the human toll of the drug war, and often contested the official death counts put out by the government under the social media campaign #RealNumbersPH, a self-described effort to counter what it calls a "false narrative" on the war on drugs.

This has attracted criticism from both supporters of the President and Duterte himself, who has long had an uneasy relationship with the press since before he was elected in a landslide in May 2016.

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