Volume 1, Issue No. 48
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail. com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . .
Our latest as of Tuesday, June 16, 2020
~ The deception does not end even as a Manila judge had convicted Maria Ressa of Rappler and a former colleague of cyber libel, a crime that could land them in jail for a maximum of six years. The finding of guilt "beyond reasonable doubt" has not bothered her; she's appealing the decision and urge the people to keep fighting for their rights. Not that they lost any of those rights, it's just that Ressa could not contemplate failing in her attempts to undermine President Rodrigo Duterte.
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'DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS TO OUR DEMOCRACY'
Maria Ressa's Illusion After a Libel Conviction
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
“Curses to the crooked, to the liars and to the immoral people, because only truth must triumph.” ―
TORONTO - "What we're seeing is death by a thousand cuts to our democracy."
The sentence, drawn from a speech Maria Ressa gave at a university forum last year, has become a slogan of sorts for this CEO of the online news site Rappler.
She repeated the line many times in the presence of a throng of reporters after Manila court Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa had rendered her decision convicting Ressa and a former colleague of cyber libel, a crime that could land them in prison for a maximum of six years.
On that judgment day in Manila on Monday, June 15, 2020, Ressa was grinning from ear to ear, hardly frightened by the prospect of serving jail time, and taking extreme pleasure at being the center of attention, again, of domestic and international media.
Democracy Philippine-style was nowhere near being cut up. Its "death" prophesied by Ressa was never imminent.
In fact, at that very moment, democracy was at its liveliest. The media frenzy and press conference that soon followed the court's decision were among the best arguments negating Ressa's tireless propagandizing.
That she and her lawyer could spew their usual beef, freely and without restraint, only shows Ressa could be such a terrific liar. Her actions belie her claim to the contrary. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RexihfFtXo).
She takes the press on a joyride to support her unfounded assertion that the Philippines and the government that runs it are corrupt to the core, that the freedoms of speech and of the press are waylaid by an authoritarian leader in the person of the foul-mouthed Rodrigo Duterte.
Where exist those freedoms, Ressa denies. But she continues to exercise them and thrives in their protective umbrella. Her Rappler's continuing presence despite legal challenges to its corporate life proves Ressa's sustained deception.
The "thousand cuts to our democracy" that Ressa imagines are at best illusory. She knows that, but she's unwilling to concede it because she would lose her luster in the eyes of the foreign media. (Video at:
Many of those who believe her are the so-called "parachute journalists" who knew nothing much of the situation, rely on local hires who feed them with information, writes about it, and then flies out of the country. (Background at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute_journalism).
I've combed the internet for Ressa's cyber libel conviction story and found, not surprisingly, that the news outlets that reported it are mostly sympathetic to her plight. That means she's quite successful in convincing some reporters in the foreign media that press censorship and repression are real in the Philippines.
The "parachute journalists" and their clones would not have the time to dig deep into a story, in this instance, Ressa's. So they reported the story, inaccurately of course, since it's based on nonfactual information embellished to look like it's well-documented.
I am certain Ressa realized that many of the foreign media reports are questionable in their facts and may have been influenced by the writers' friendship with her. One example is by CNN Atlanta (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKwZ0I15cpg)
I had many years of experience reporting for a foreign news agency based in Hamburg, Germany that competed with CNN (except that our main market was Europe and Africa) where Ressa once worked as its bureau manager in Manila during the time of Cory Aquino.
So, when Ressa portrays herself as a defender of press freedom and a victim of President Duterte's allegedly tyrannical policies, the foreign media would jump into the bandwagon and sign up with the mob of dissenters typically consisting of members of the political party Mr. Duterte had defeated in the 2016 polls.
"This is NOT a fight against the Press Freedom, an institution I deeply respect and uphold," writes Wilfredo D. Keng, Ressa's nemesis in the cyber libel case, to explain his side.
"For years, I have personally suffered from Rappler’s false accusations against me, which false accusations have no place in a responsible and free press.
"My filing and winning this case assures Filipinos that published falsehoods will not remain unchallenged and unchecked in this jurisdiction but will instead be dealt with by law, strengthening the people’s respect for the Philippine Media in the years to come," Keng concluded. (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).
all of what you said here is glaringly true. thank you for speaking out what many people couldnt utter
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