RAPPLER CHIEF MARIA RESSA FOUND GUILTY OF CYBER LIBEL

MANILA - Rappler CEO Maria Ressa was on Monday found guilty of cyber libel

over a 2012 article that linked a businessman to alleged illegal activities.

Former Rappler researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr. was also convicted in the

case.

Ressa said the court's decision was "devastating" but her camp would "keep

fighting."

"I appeal to you, the journalists in room, the Filipinos who are listening,

to protect your rights. WeÂ’re meant to be a cautionary tale, we are meant to

make you afraid. I appeal again, donÂ’t be afraid," she told reporters.

"Because if you donÂ’t use your rights, you will lose them. If we donÂ’t

challenge a brazen move to try to roll back the rights guaranteed in the

constitution, we will lose them. We shouldnÂ’t be voluntarily giving up our

rights."

The 2018 TIME magazine Person of the Year earlier said she was "prepared for

the worst" outcome in the case, which resulted in her brief detention in

February last year.

Ressa and Santos will remain on bail they previously posted and have been

given 15 days to consider their next move, according to their counsel,

former Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te.

"Obviously legal steps forward would include questioning the decision and

the appropriate proceeding. We still have to meet, weÂ’ll have to go over the

decision carefully," he said.

With a conviction, the “message to other journalists and independent voices

is clear: Keep quiet, or youÂ’ll be next," said international human rights

lawyer Amal Clooney, who represents Ressa.

“Let’s hope that on Monday a trial judge in Manila will send a very

different message. And that if she doesn’t, we will see a robust response,”

she added.

Clooney, BritainÂ’s special envoy on media freedom, said the charges leveled

against Ressa were "based on a law that violates international standards

enshrined in treaties that the Philippines has ratified, by allowing

imprisonment as a penalty for allegedly libelous speech.”

Businessman Wilfredo Keng had accused Rappler of smearing his reputation

over a May 2012 article alleging that he supposedly allowed former Chief

Justice Renato Corona to use an SUV. The same article cited an intelligence

report alleging Keng had a shady past.

The news website argued that the Anti-Cybercrime Law was approved months

later, in September 2012. Keng denied the allegations and requested that the

article be taken down, which the news website refused to do.

Rappler and Ressa are also facing charges of tax fraud, violation of the

Securities Regulation Code and the Anti-Dummy Law among others.

Rappler, which has published stories critical of the administration, has

described cases and acts against it as an attack on press freedom.

DUTERTE TO DECIDE ON VIRUS QUARANTINES AS CASES RISE WITH ECONOMIC RESTART

MANILA -- President Rodrigo Duterte will decide on the Philippines' virus

restrictions, as current restrictions that allow limited economic activity

are set to expire on Monday.

The 75-year-old leader will face the nation as early as Monday, after

meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on pandemic response, Presidential

Spokesman Harry Roque earlier told reporters.

Up to 75 percent of the economy was reopened after Metro Manila and some

urban centers were downgraded to a general community quarantine, after

enduring an 11-week lockdown or enhanced community quarantine, said acting

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua.

Except for the capital region, Pangasinan province, Cagayan Valley, Central

Luzon, Central Visayas, Davao City, and Zamboanga City, which are under

general community quarantine, all areas in the country are under modified

GCQ until June 15.

A modified GCQ or MGCQ is the lowest quarantine classification, and a step

above the "new normal" with minimum health standards.

The lockdown caused the first GDP contraction in 22 years. Unemployment

which soared to a record 17.7 percent in April, padding the number of

jobless Filipinos to 7.3 million.

Malacañang on Sunday said restrictions would likely be limited to either

GCQ, MGCQ, or elevated again to the stricter modified enhanced community

quarantine.

"Bahala po ang Presidente kasi binabalanse naman po natin iyong ekonomiya at

sapat naman po iyong kakayahan nating magbigay ng medical care doon sa mga

magkakasakit nang critical, iyong critical care capacity natin," Roque said

on Sunday.

As of June 14, the Philippines has confirmed 25,930 COVID-19 cases. This

includes 1,088 deaths and 5,954 recoveries.

FACEBOOK 'IMPOSTORS': PHILIPPINES SETS INTER-AGENCY INVESTIGATION

MANILA — An inter-agency task force will investigate a recent deluge of

impostor accounts on Facebook that used the identities of students,

journalists and government officials, the Department of Justice said Monday.

Users reported some 300 allegedly fake accounts which authorities asked

Facebook to take down while saving a copy of their content, said DOJ

spokesperson Undersecretary Markk Perete.

The National Bureau of Investigation, National Privacy Commission and

Department of Information and Communications Technology will look into these

accounts, he said.

"I think within the week iyong task force ay mag-uusap-usap (the task force

will meet) to look into the matter, in coordination with Facebook as well,"

he told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

ABS-CBN'S GABBY LOPEZ QUALIFIED TO OWN, MANAGE PH MEDIA COMPANY: ENRILE

MANILA - ABS-CBN chairman emeritus Eugenio "Gabby" Lopez III is qualified to

own and manage a media company in the country, former Senate President Juan

Ponce Enrile said Sunday.

The citizenship of Lopez, who was born to Filipino parents in the United

States, is a "weak ground" to deny or extend the network's franchise, he

added.

"I personally believe that Gabby Lopez is qualified to own and managed (sic)

a mass media broadcast business in our country," Enrile said in a Facebook

post a day before the House of Representatives resumes its inquiry into

ABS-CBN's franchise.

"... and that ABS-CBN Corporation is not disqualified because of him to

engaged (sic) in mass media broadcast business under a provision of our

Constitution which says - 'The ownership and management of mass media shall

be limited to citizens of the Philippines...'"

Lopez acquired his Philippine and US citizenships at birth by virtue of jus

sanguinis (law of ethnicity) and jus soli (law of the soil), Enrile said.

"Gabby Lopez (and all Filipinos similarly situated like him) was never

required under our Constitution to elect and choose which of his two

citizenship he would retain or follow," Enrile said.

"Both attached to him at birth without any choice or act on his part. From

the view point of US law, he is a natural born American. At the same time,

from the view point of Philippine law, he is a natural born Filipino."

GIVE ONLINE SELLERS FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE – ROBREDO

MANILA — Instead of taxing micro online sellers, the government should

provide them with financial assistance to help them survive the adverse

impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Vice President

Leni Robredo said yesterday.

Robredo made the suggestion following the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)Â’s

recent call for online businesses to register and pay their taxes.

“We understand how important accreditation is, but I hope our agencies have

close coordination on this,” the Vice President said in her weekly program

over dzXL. “They (online sellers) are just making their own strategies (to

survive).”

Robredo said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) should be the one

urging online businesses to register and not the BIR “because when it’s the

BIR, the first thing that comes to a person’s mind is tax.”

She cited Republic Act 9178 or the Barangay Micro Business Enterprise Law,

which aims to assist micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs by giving

them several benefits such as tax exemption. Enterprises with at most P3

million in total asset value are eligible for BMBE benefits.

“They just need to register (with the DTI) so they can have access to

(government) assistance,” Robredo said.

Robredo found support in senators who believed that the government must

first collect unpaid taxes – estimated to be as much as P200 billion – from

Philippine offshore gaming operators or POGOs before squeezing money from

online sellers.

MARIA RESSA'S CYBER LIBEL CONVICTION A 'DEVASTATING BLOW' TO MEDIA FREEDOM:

HRW

MANILA — Media freedom in the Philippines suffered a "devastating blow" with

the conviction of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa for cyber libel over an 8-year-old

article, international watchdog Human Rights Watch said.

A Manila court sentenced Ressa and former Rappler researcher Reynaldo Santos

Jr. to at least 6 months up to 6 years in prison over the 2012 story that

linked a businessman to alleged illegal activities.

Rappler is known for its critical reporting of President Rodrigo Duterte's

anti-narcotics drive. Ressa and her colleagues face 7 other cases in various

courts for which she has been arrested, detained and posted bail, said HRW.

The verdict against Ressa "is a devastating blow to media freedom in the

Philippines," said the New York-based group.

"The verdict against Maria Ressa highlights the ability of the PhilippinesÂ’

abusive leader to manipulate the laws to go after critical, well-respected

media voices whatever the ultimate cost to the country," said Phil

Robertson, deputy Asia director at HRW.

"The Rappler case will reverberate not just in the Philippines, but in many

countries that long considered the country a robust environment for media

freedom."

‘BALIK PROBINSYA’ TO RETURN – PALACE

MANILA — The “Balik Probinsya, Balik Pag-Asa” program will resume after the

government has assisted the people stranded in Metro Manila, according to

Malacañang.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said many Filipinos now believe that life

is better in the province as the Philippines faces the coronavirus disease

2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“I think in the medium and long-term, (the Balik Probinsya) will continue.

Because of this crisis, many Filipinos suddenly realized that life is better

in the province. At least in the province, you wonÂ’t go hungry, you can

plant crops, you can catch fish,” Roque told GMA News over the weekend.

“We are just waiting for the improvement of the capacities of the provinces,

for them to have their own swabbing (centers) and (polymerase chain

reaction) test laboratories so that they can undergo tests in Manila before

they go home, and there will also be testing in the provinces before they

return to their homes,” he added.

The “Balik Probinsya, Balik Pag-Asa” program, which was created through

Executive Order 114, seeks to “ensure balanced regional development and

equitable distribution of wealth, resources and opportunities through

policies and programs that boost countryside development.”

THE REST

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DOLE: OFWS NEEDING AID TOP 500,000

MANILA — Over half a million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by

the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic are seeking financial aid,

the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said as of yesterday, the number of

displaced OFWs who have applied for cash assistance under the DOLEÂ’s Abot

Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP) program has reached 508,527.

Bello said that of the total number of applicants, DOLE has so far extended

assistance to 189,153 OFWs.

“DOLE has disbursed some P1.6 billion for the implementation of the AKAP

program,” he noted.

Under the program DOLE provides one-time cash assistance of $200 – or

P10,000 – to both land- and sea-based OFWs who have lost their jobs or were

placed under a “no work no pay” scheme as a result of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Bello said DOLE will submit to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF)

all the information they gather from their newly activated tracking system

for OFWs returning to the country.

DOLE created the OFW Assistance Information System (OASIS) to facilitate an

orderly repatriation of the huge number of OFWs who have been affected by

the pandemic and opting to go back home.

DOLE consultant Marianito Roque said the tracking system would allow DOLE to

generate data as to how many OFWs were rendered jobless, or are under the no

work no pay policy, and gives the labor agency an idea on the appropriate

assistance to be provided.

Roque said DOLE will also be able to identify the skills of the returning

workers and refer them to new employment or provide them alternative

livelihood if they want to.

“So in a week or two, when the system becomes fully operational, we can

expect better handling of our returning OFWs,” he explained.

Bello urged all OFWs bound for home to register online with OASIS through

oasis.owwa.gov.ph.

HONTIVEROS, PANGILINAN URGE FILIPINOS TO 'SPEAK OUT' AGAINST 'ATTACKS' ON

JOURNALISTS, DUTERTE CRITICS

MANILA - Opposition senators on Monday urged Filipinos to "speak out"

against attacks on free press and journalists after Rappler CEO Maria Ressa

and former researcher Rey Santos were convicted of cyber libel.

"Attacks" on journalists and the "silencing of critics" in the Philippines

have been "going on for three years now," Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan

said in a statement after the verdict.

"Under the current political atmosphere of repression and authoritarianism,

it would have been a surprise if Maria Ressa and Reynaldo [Santos] were

acquitted," he said.

"Unless we stand up, speak out, and vigorously oppose the tyranny in our

midst, their conviction will not be the last, he said.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros said Ressa and Santos' conviction was meant to "send a

chilling message" to Filipinos that government critics can be shut down and

silenced.

"This year alone and while we're responding to a global pandemic, we have

witnessed the shutdown of a far-reaching media institution and the

weaponization of the law against a journalist doing unbiased reporting on

extrajudicial killings in the country," she said referring to ABS-CBN's

shutdown and Ressa's conviction.

"The attacks on the free press & journalists are a danger to our democracy &

to us Filipinos... Takot sila, kaya nila tayo pinapatahimik (They are scared

that's why they want to silence us)," the opposition senator said.

"I urge everyone to speak out. Dumarami tayo (We are increasing). We are

complicit if we are silent," Hontiveros said.

GOKONGWEI GROUP GOES 'HEAD ON' DIGITAL TO KEEP UP WITH PANDEMIC

MANILA -- The Gokongwei group is accelerating the digitization of its

businesses as the coronavirus requires consumers to keep apart physically

and spend carefully, its CEO said Monday.

During the 11-week lockdown of Metro Manila and urban areas, JG Summit

worked out a "contactless" experience at Cebu Pacific and ramped up online

delivery services for Robinsons Supermarket and Southstar Drug, said CEO

Lance Gokongwei.

"The COVID crisis has merely accelerated and reinforced what we have to do.

We just have to move in a quicker manner and dive head on. There's no other

way about it," Gokongwei told Market Edge on ANC.

Shares of JG Summit have recovered in recent weeks. Gokongwei said he was

"fundamentally optimistic" about a rebound.

There will be a "strong recovery" in 2021 and by the latter part of 2022,

the conglomerate could be back to early 2020 levels, he said.

ONLINE MASSES NOT ENOUGH, BISHOP SAYS

MANILA — While masses have been celebrated online, virtual is not enough for

Catholics who have been deprived of the Holy Eucharist which they receive

only when physically present at church, Archdiocese of Manila apostolic

administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo said.

In his homily yesterday during the celebration of the Feast of Corpus

Christi (Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ), Pabillo said

Catholics have been deprived of receiving the body of Christ during holy

communion.

Being unable to receive communion is one of the sacrifices Filipino

Catholics have had to endure for the past three months or since the start of

community quarantine.

“We have been deprived of the holy mass. Yes, we have these online masses

but this is not the sacrament of the Holy EucharistÂ… We make do with this

very temporary arrangement of online mass because of the extraordinary

situation we are in, but it is not the mass itself,” Pabillo said.

The government imposed restrictions on mass gatherings as a way to observe

physical distancing and curb the spread of covid-19.

“Participating in this online mass… helps you spiritually; you hear the

words of God; it helps you to pray; you become part of the worshipping

community but deep down you know it is not the mass,” he said. “Our

celebration with God and our relationship with Him is something that is

real, actual and cannot be reduced to virtual. We all long to go back to

participate in the mass in a church. Virtual is not enough, we want the real

thing.”

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

'GHOST FIGHTER' COMING TO NETFLIX ON JUNE 26

MANILA – The rumors are true! The popular anime “Ghost Fighter” is arriving

soon on Netflix.

The streaming platform confirmed this news via Twitter on Sunday.

It will be available for viewing on Netflix Philippines beginning June 26.

“Ghost Fighter” follows Yusuke or more popularly known as Eugene among

Filipino viewers.

Described as a delinquent teenager, he dies from an accident while trying to

save a child.

Because of this, Eugene was given the opportunity to redeem himself by being

a "spirit world detective."

He also develops special powers including his "Rei Gun" to fight off demons

causing trouble in the human world.

SPORTS

IN OPEN LETTER TO BASKETBALL COMMUNITY, FIBA CONDEMNS ALL FORMS OF RACISM

FIBA's Executive Committee convened via video conference over the weekend

for their third ordinary meeting of the 2019-2023 cycle, with FIBA President

Hamane Niang opening the meeting with an open letter condemning racism.

He also called on the global basketball community to be part of the change

in society.

This, as basketball players worldwide have refused to "shut up and dribble"

in the wake of civil unrest in the United States.

The death of a black man, George Floyd, after a white Minneapolis police

officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, triggered protests all

throughout the United States, with several athletes making their voices

heard.

NBA players were among the most vocal in calling for justice and reforms in

society. They were backed by Commissioner Adam Silver in a memo released to

all 30 teams.

In his open letter, Niang stressed that while FIBA remains a "politically

neutral organization," they will not stay silent on the issue of racism.

Instead, FIBA "unequivocally condemns all forms of discrimination as an

attack on an individual's basic human rights."

"There is no place for this in basketball, in sport, or in any aspect of

society," he said.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy. - Howard W.

Newton