Rappler’s Maria Ressa posts bail for tax evasion

MANILA, Philippines — Rappler Holdings Corp. (RHC) president Maria Ressa posted a total of P204,000 bail before the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) yesterday in connection with the tax evasion charges filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against her and her media company.

Ressa appeared before the CTA to pay P60,000 each for three cases of failure to file tax returns and P24,000 for tax evasion or alleged violations of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.

CTA justices, in a resolution also issued yesterday, said the cash bond posted for the provisional liberty of the online news website executive is accepted and approved in view of her voluntary surrender.

The DOJ lodged the tax evasion cases against Ressa over RHC’s alleged “failure to supply the correct and accurate information in the corporation’s quarterly value-added tax return for the second quarter of 2015.”

Ressa also allegedly failed to report the total quarterly sales receipts of more than P2.45 million from the issue and sale of the Philippine depository receipts to NBM Rappler L.P.

Ressa maintains they did not do anything irregular and that the charges against them were part of political persecution due to their criticisms against the government.