Rappler’s Maria Ressa posts bail for tax code violation

Rappler CEO Maria Ressa has posted bail in connection with a tax case the government has lodged against her before a Pasig court, according to an order issued on Monday by the judge assigned to the case.

The veteran journalist on Monday paid P60,000 after voluntarily surrendering before Judge Danilo Buemio of the Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 265, who issued an arrest ordered against her on November 28.

Buemio has recalled the arrest warrant against Ressa, who will be arraigned on December 7.

“We verified that an arrest warrant had been issued on the basis of what we believe are politically motivated charges,” Ressa said in a separate statement.

"I surrendered to the court this morning, went through the process of what a criminal would go through, and filed bail without surrendering my right to question the Pasig court’s jurisdiction over this tax case. This is a clear case of harassment,” she said.

Ressa faces charges of violating Section 255 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that she failed to report the total quarterly sales receipts from the issuance and sale of Philippine Depositary Receipts in the second quarter of 2015.

The alleged deficiency in value-added tax reached P294,258.58, according to the official information filed before the Pasig court.

The DOJ has also filed four separate tax cases against Ressa and Rappler before the Court of Tax Appeals.

The news site, which has published pieces critical of the Duterte administration, also faces a complaint for cyberlibel before the state prosecutor. —VDS, GMA News