News Roundup 26 July 2022
Jul 26, 2022 • 4 min Read
Rappler CEO appeals CA ruling on cyber libel case | INQUIRER.NET – Rappler CEO and Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa and former researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr. have asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to reconsider its decision affirming their cyber libel conviction. In its 32-page motion for reconsidered filed July 22 but made public Tuesday, Ressa and Santos through the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) said the CA violated their rights when it extended the prescription period for cyber libel and applying it retroactively against the two. “This Court erred in not recognizing that every doubt should be indulged in favor of appellants Santos Jr. and Ressa,” read the motion for reconsideration. It explained that a fundamental principle in criminal law states that in case of doubt, the case shall be resolved in favor of the accused. “This rule commands courts such as this one that when the law admits of several competing interpretations, the interpretation most favorable to the accused should apply,” it said. A prescriptive period is a period set under the law within which a complaint can be filed. Under the Revised Penal Code, prescription period for libel is one year. However, the Manila Court that convicted both Ressa and Santos said the prescription should be 12 years. But the Court of Appeals said under Article 90 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), the prescription shall be 15 years. The CA also increased the penalty imposed against Ressa and Santos Jr. from six months and a day to six years in jail to six months and a day up to six years, eight months and 20 days. FLAG said that while the Cybercrime Prevention Act aggravates penalties when ‘computer systems’ are used “it intentionally remained silent on the prescriptive period of libel.” “For this Court to entangle the penalty attached to libel with its prescriptive period goes far beyond judicial interpretation because Article 90 of the RPC is clear and requires no interpretation: libel or other similar offenses, regardless of penalty, shall prescribe in one year,” read the motion. They added that the CA erred in relying on the Tolentino vs. People case when it issued its ruling against Ressa and Santos Jr. because the case was resolved through an unsigned resolution and, under the Supreme Court’s Internal Rules, it has no doctrinal value. Rappler has been fighting at least a dozen of court cases including the shut down order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Resolution to free Leila de Lima filed in Senate | INQUIRER.NET – A resolution that seeks the release of former Senator Leila de Lima from the Philippine National Police Custodial Center has been filed in the Senate. Senator Risa Hontiveros said this Tuesday, adding that Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III is co-author of the resolution. “May isa na kaming resolution na finile magkasama, pareho kaming authors, para palayain si Sen. Leila,” Hontiveros said in a press conference at the Senate. (We have filed one resolution together, were both authors, to free Se. Leila.) “Basically, ine-enumerate ‘yung nakaraang kalahating dekadang mga karanasan ni Sen. Leila hanggang sa pinaka-recent na may hindi kukulang sa tatlo na nag-recant na sa kanilang mga pagsasaksi laban sa kanya. Sa huli ng resolusyon ay hinihiling namin ni Sen. Koko – at may isa pang senador na nasa majority naman na nagsabi kahapon na sasali sa amin bilang co-author – sa huli, hinihingi namin sa Department of Justice na i-withdraw na ‘yung mga kaso laban kay Sen. Leila at palayain siya.,” she added. (Basically, we enumerated the past half a decade of Sen. Leila’s experiences until the very recent event wherein at least three persons have recanted their testimonies against her. At the end of the resolution, Sen. Koko and I are asking – and one more senator in the majority bloc yesterday said that she will join us as a co-author – at the end, we are asking the Department of Justice to withdraw the cases against Sen. Leila and set her free.) Hontiveros and Pimentel did not disclose the senator from the majority bloc who is a co-author of the resolution but hinted that the lawmaker is a woman.
DOH: Philippines may see 19,000 COVID cases a day by end-August | PHILSTAR.COM – COVID-19 infections in the Philippines may reach around 19,000 a day by the end of August, the Department of Health said Tuesday. According to the DOH, the number of detected cases are projected to be on a “continuous uptrend,” with around 19,306 cases reported daily by August 31. “However, with the improvement of vaccination and booster rates and [compliance with] minimum public health standards, case increase may be slower and more controlled at about 6,194 to 8,346 cases by the end of August,” the agency said. The country logged 19,536 additional COVID-19 cases, or an average of 2,791 infections a day, from July 18 to 24. Authorities attributed the renewed increase in cases to the presence of fast-spreading COVID-19 variants, increased mobility, and waning vaccine immunity of the public.
