MANILA: Rappler CEO Maria Ressa pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to tax evasion, as President Rodrigo Duterte’s government faced growing calls to drop all charges against the veteran reporter. Ex-Rappler journalist Reynaldo Santos was also found guilty in that case. In a video on Twitter after the hearing, Ressa said she pleaded not guilty to tax evasion — one of five tax-related charges she faces — in the capital Manila. “We’ll fight every step of the way because we will hold the line,” Ressa said defiantly in the video. The charges against her and Rappler were “politically motivated”, Ressa told journalists at the company’s headquarters after the hearing.

Source: Manila Times July 22, 2020 05:15 UTC