Pinayagan ng Court of Appeals (CA) nitong Biyernes, Dis. 3 si Rappler Chief Executive Officer Maria Ressa na bumiyahe sa Oslo, Norway mula Dis. 8 hanggang 13 upang personal na matanggap ang 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
Itinanggi nito ang pagsalungat ng Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) na nagsasabing isang “flight risk” si Ressa.
Sinusuri ng CA ang paghatol kay Ressa noong 2020 sa kasong cybercrime. Dahil sa nakabinbin na pagsusuri, kinailangan ni Ressa na humingi ng permiso sa CA na makalabas ng bansa.
“Considering that Ressa has proved that her intended travel is necessary and urgent, and she is not a flight risk, there is no reason to deny the Urgent Motion to Travel Abroad,” sabi n CA sa isang resolusyon na isinilat ni written Associate Justice Geraldine C. Fiel Macaraig.
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Sumang-ayon sina Associate Justice Ruben Reynaldo G. Roxas at Raymond Reynold R. Lauigan ng special seventh division ng CA.
Inihayag ng CA resolusyon na:
“The travel period shall be from Dec. 8, 2021 to Dec. 13, 2021, and only for the purpose of attending the Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony in Oslo, Norway, and participating in the events specifically mentioned in the attached confirmation and invitation letter.
“Ressa should return to the Philippines from Boston, USA, on Dec. 2, 2021, and inform this Court within 24 hours from such return. (Ressa had earlier been allowed to travel to the US.)
“Subject to her compliance with the second condition above-mentioned, the previous cash bond in the amount of P500,000 under Official Receipt No.10074925 shall be applied as travel bond for purposes of her travel to Oslo, Norway on Dec. 8, 2021 until Dec. 13, 2021.
“Ressa shall advise this Court in writing of her return to the country within 24 hours from arrival on Dec. 13, 2021.”
Ang isa pang Nobel Peace laureate ngayong taon ang Russian journalist na si Dimitry Murativ.
Tumugon naman si Ressa sa pagtutol ng OSG sa kanyang paglipad ng Norway.
Sa pamamagitan ng kanyang abogadong si Theodore Te, sinabi nitong, “Ressa has sufficiently demonstrated the necessity and urgency of the travel sought, that she is not a flight risk, and that the Court’s Oct. 18, 2021 Resolution (while not automatically binding in this application) provides a basis for this Court to grant her application.”
Hindi ito sumang-ayon sa alegasyon ng OSG na naglabas siya ng iba’t ibang pahayag na bumabatikos sa kanyang hatol dahilan para siya’y maging isang flight risk.
“This is not only without basis but also fundamentally dangerous,” ang tugon ay ipinunto habang binibigyang-diin nito na si Ressa ay may karapatan sa malayang pananalita at pagpapahayag sa ilalim ng Article III ng 1987 Constitution.
Binigyang-diin din nito na ang pagtanggap ng Nobel Peace Prize ay isang lifetime experience.
“The importance of the awarding ceremony and Ms. Ressa’s presence there cannot be understated. It is necessary and urgent travel for Ms. Ressa herself: plainly, this is a unique and very unusual situation, and there would be very grave prejudice to her were she to miss this opportunity. Put simply, she will not be awarded a second Nobel Peace Prize; this is a once in a lifetime occasion. Her non-presence in Oslo on Dec. 10, 2021 would undoubtedly cause her irreparable damage and prejudice.”
The reply reiterated that Ressa’s travel to Noway would be in the interest of the Philippines’ international standing. However, her absence at the event “would be both conspicuous and difficult to explain,” dagdag nito.
Rey Panaligan
