National Press Club (NPC), the oldest and the biggest press organization in the Philippines, stated that the manner of how National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested Rappler’s CEO Maria Ressa was done in a “bad taste”.
Ressa was arrested due to the cyber libel case that businessman Wilfredo Keng filed against her regarding the 2012 article published on the online news site.
She defended that under her leadership, Rappler is just telling the real story as of how it happened.
In line with this, media personalities and politician from the opposition expressed their support for Maria Ressa.
NPC just recently expressed its view also regarding the issue. Based on the report from CNN Philippines, the organization stated the NBI done the arrest in a “bad taste”.
“While the NPC recognized that the NBI served the warrant as part of our judicial process, the manner by which it was done smacks of bad taste,” the organization said in a statement.
The press club stressed that the NBI could have served the warrant earlier that it did.
NPC also called out the attention of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for their the memorandum of agreement previously signed.
“The agreement, among others, calls for a close coordination between the police and the NPC in the serving of warrant of arrest against members of the press for libel.”
NPC also stated that the arresting of Maria Ressa was the government’s act of political harrasment to its critics.
In addition, the club also cited that what happened to Rappler’s CEO also happened to other members of the press.
Here is NPC’s full statement.
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