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An initiative by the Philippine Justice Ministry to charge the Rappler investigation site with tax evasion is seen as a thinly disguised attempt to stifle press freedom in Southeast Asia.
On Friday, the Justice Ministry said it had "found a probable cause" to indict Rappler, its managing director and editor, former head of CNN's office, Maria Ressa, for tax evasion. .
"We are not at all surprised by this decision, given how the Duterte administration treated Rappler for his independent and fearless reporting," Rappler said in a statement.
Officials said Rappler and Ressa had not reported about $ 3 million in 2015 on tax returns from an Omidyar Network investment, a fund created by the founder of eBay, Pierre Omidyar.
In November 2015, Rappler presented this investment as a partnership creating an "inclusive media platform" that combined professional journalism, technology and crowd wisdom.
Rappler did not hesitate to make critical reports on Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, closely documenting his so-called "war on drugs", a widespread crackdown condemned for encouraging thousands of extrajudicial executions.
In January, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) temporarily revoked Rappler's registration for violating the country's foreign ownership constitution.
Ressa said at the time: "We must continue. What we say at Rappler is: "We will hold the line". We only do journalism. We tell the truth to power. That's what we do. "
A spokesman for Duterte told CNN Philippines earlier this year that the president had "nothing to do with the SEC's decision."
Rewarded for his "intrepid" reports
On the eve of the announcement of the tax evasion charges announced Friday, Ressa was in the United States to accept the International Committee of Journalists (ICFJ) Knight International Journalism Award.
In a statement announcing the award, the ICFJ hailed Ressa as a "fearless and innovative media editor, highlighting the bloody war by the Philippine government against drugs."
Ressa said Duterte used the same tactics that is currently used in the United States, including banning reporters and labeling critical articles as "false information."
"Our problems quickly become your problems. Borders around the world have collapsed, "she said, according to a statement from ICFJ dated November 9.
Declining Internet freedom
Freedom House, an NGO funded by the US government, released a report earlier this month that indicated that Internet freedom has declined worldwide for the eighth year in a row.
According to the report "Freedom on the Net", the Philippines recorded one of the largest decreases in their method of calculating the number of points (65), which assesses Internet access, freedom of Expression and protection of privacy.
The report now ranks the country in the "Partially Free" category, in part because of "harassing dissenting voices".
"Rappler has been a frequent target with at least two defamation charges brought because of the critical exposure by the outlet of government officials and influential businessmen," said the report in its section on the Philippines. .
Earlier this year, leading human rights activists urged the government to stop attempts to arrest Rappler.
"We are gravely concerned that the government is considering revoking the license of Rappler," said three UN special rapporteurs in a joint statement.
"Rappler's work is based on his own freedom to communicate information and, most importantly, on his vast readership to gain access to his public interest reporting," said the statement, signed by David Kaye, Michel Forst and Agnes Callamard. .
Callamard, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, was herself verbally attacked by Duterte, who described her as "stupid" and threatened to "slap her" if she persisted in investigating the war on drugs. In late 2016, the government declared that it was not welcome in the country.
On Saturday, David Kaye, UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, tweeted the January statement and added: "(Duterte) has been trying to intimidate @rapplerdotcom for a long time."
