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Pasig RTC junks Anti-Dummy Law case vs. Maria Ressa, other Rappler execs

"In this case, this Court finds that the prosecution's evidence is grossly insufficient to establish the criminal liability of al of the accused by proof beyond reasonable doubt," the court said. The Pasig Regional Trial Court has dismissed the violation of the Anti-Dummy Law charges against Nobel Peace laureate Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa and five other officers of the news website. In an 11-page order, Pasig City Judge Marie Joyce Manongsong granted the demurrers to evidence Ressa and the other executives –Nico Jose Nolledo, Glenda M. Gloria, Manuel I. Ayala, Felicia Atienza, and James Velasquez. "In this case, this Court finds that the prosecution's evidence is grossly insufficient to establish the criminal liability of al of the accused by proof beyond reasonable doubt," the court said. In the information filed before the Pasig RTC, the prosecution accused Ressa and the others of allowing Omidyar Network Fund, a foreign corporation, to intervene in Rappler operations by issuing Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDR) to the investment firm in 2015. The anti-dummy case is related to a Securities and Exchange Commission order revoking Rappler's incorporation papers on allegations it violated a constitutional restriction on foreign ownership of mass media by issuing PDRs to Omidyar. The court said that the 2018 SEC decision itself did not establish the individual roles of each of the accused in the transfer of PDRs to Omidyar. "From the foregoing, it is apparent that the SEC assumed that each of the accused had a role ni the supposed illegal scheme based on their corporate positions ni Rappler and RHCI. It found such fact sufficient for the imposition of administrative sanctions on the corporations involved," the court said. "Nonetheless, ni the instant criminal case against each of the accused, the prosecution simply adopted the SEC findings in the administrative case and failed ot provide evidentiary support ot the supposed specific acts of each of the accused that led to the issuance of the PDRs to Omidyar," it added. The court said there was no proof of the alleged negotiations between Ressa, as representative of Rappler and RHCI, and Omidyar. It added that the 2018 SEC decision itself showed that not all the accused are directors of RHCI. Atienza and Velasquez, for example, were shown to be directors of Rappler only. "Likewise, the prosecution failed to submit any board resolution, corporate record or any other piece of evidence clearly establishing the involvement of each of the accused in the issuance of PDRs to Omidyar," the court said. –NB, GMA Integrated News