Maria Ressa, a Philippine Nobel laureate, was cleared of her final tax evasion allegation on Tuesday, marking the veteran journalist’s latest court triumph in her fight to avoid going to jail.
Ressa, 59, grinned as the judge read the decision in the protracted case, according to an AFP reporter present in the courtroom.
Ressa has long argued that the accusations against her and the news website Rappler, which she co-founded in 2012 and has been a strong opponent of Duterte and his deadly drug war, were politically motivated.
In 2015, Ressa and Rappler sold Philippine depositary receipts, which is a mechanism for businesses to raise money from international investors. As a result, they were charged with five counts of tax evasion.
In January, a judge cleared them of all four accusations. A different court heard the fifth case, which was cleared of all charges against her and Rappler on Tuesday.
Ressa and Rappler now have to contend with two other court cases, so their future is uncertain despite the acquittals. Ressa and a former coworker, Rey Santos Jr., are contesting a conviction for cyber libel that carries a term of almost seven years in prison.
Rappler is contesting a closure order issued by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission because it allegedly violated a restriction on foreign ownership of media. According to the constitution, only Philippine nationals or businesses under their control may invest in the media.
The case is the result of an investment made in 2015 by Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, through his US-based Omidyar Network. After Duterte tried to shut down Rappler, Omidyar Network moved its money to the site’s local operators.
Ressa was as combative and upbeat as usual on Tuesday, telling reporters that the most recent acquittal “strengthens our resolve to continue with the justice system” despite the remaining obstacles.
