Ressa pleads not guilty in tax evasion case

MANILA, Philippines — Rappler editor and chief executive officer Maria Ressa yesterday pleaded not guilty to her fifth tax evasion case filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) before a Pasig City court.

Ressa appeared at the Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 157 for her arraignment on charges that she failed to supply correct information on Rappler’s value-added tax amounting to P294,258.58 for the second qurater of 2015 over the sale of Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDR).

A PDR is a security that grants the holder the right to buy shares of stock of a corporation, but not in the form of dividends that are tied to ownership.

Rappler Holdings Corp. purchased common shares from Rappler Inc., which owns the news website, from 2014 to 2015 and issued PDRs to NBM Rappler and Omidyar Network Fund LLC.

State prosecutors said Rappler Holdings’ profits from such transactions worth P162.5 million are taxable under the Tax Code, equivalent to around P108 million in revenue.

In October 2018, the DOJ charged Ressa with five counts of tax evasion.

Four of the cases were filed before the Court of Tax Appeals. The fifth case, which was below the CTA’s P1-million threshold, was lodged with the Pasig court.

Last year, Ressa posted bail after the Pasig court issued a warrant for her arrest.

Ressa said the prosecution amended the charge yesterday by including Rappler Holdings, which the DOJ supposedly did not include in the original information.

The case is among the multiple lawsuits that Ressa is facing.

Ressa has been convicted of cyberlibel and sentenced to up to six years in prison. She was freed on bail.

Ressa says the cases are politically motivated.

Malacañang yesterday accused Ressa of “playing the victim card” and maintained that media companies could continue to operate as long as they do not violate any laws.

“It is evident that Maria Ressa is playing the victim card by talking about the non-renewal of the broadcast franchise of ABS-CBN network following her arraignment,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque told reporters. “There is no truth to her allegation. The media can keep on reporting as long as they are not violating any laws.”— Alexis Romero