(Eagle News) — The former Rappler reporter who, along with the online news outfit’s executive editor Maria Ressa, faces a cyber libel complaint over a 2012 article published on the news site, posted bail on Friday, Feb. 15.
Reynaldo Santos. Jr. voluntarily surrendered and posted a P100,000 bail before the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46.
The cyber libel charges against Santos, Ressa and Rappler Inc. were filed by businessman Wilfredo Keng, who was described in the assailed article as “controversial” with supposed links to human trafficking and illegal drugs based on a supposed intelligence report.
The Department of Justice indicted Santos, Ressa and Rappler Inc. in January after it ruled the elements of libel were present in the article, which was updated in 2014.
In indicting them, the DOJ also junked Ressa camp’s argument the Cybercrime Prevention Act, which was enacted in September 2012, no longer applied since the article was published in May 2012.
According to the DOJ, the updating of the article in 2014 was tantamount to a republication, which was covered by the cybercrime law.
The DOJ also dismissed the accused’s argument they could no longer be charged since the one-year prescriptive period for libel had already expired.
According to the DOJ, Ressa, Rappler and Santos were charged with cyber libel, and not libel, in the first place.
Based on the Cybercrime Prevention Act, the DOJ said the punishment for cyber libel was a degree higher than the one for libel.
Given this, the DOJ said the prescriptive period for cyber libel, a “special” law, was 12 years, based on Republic Act 3326 which governs special laws.
