Latest news with #Rappler
GMA Network
a day ago
- Business
- GMA Network
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
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Baseless 'impeachment vote' claims target Philippine Senate hopeful
"When I win, I will vote to impeach Sara Duterte," reads a graphic shared May 6 on Facebook which suggests Pangilinan made the remarks one day prior. The image includes social media handles for iMPACT Leadership, a youth-focused organisation in the Philippines (archived link). The image also surfaced elsewhere on Facebook as the Philippines headed to vote in a mid-term election largely defined by the explosive feud between President Ferdinand Marcos and impeached Vice President Sara Duterte (archived link). The 12 senators chosen will form half the jury in Duterte's trial -- tentatively set for July -- that could see her permanently barred from public office. With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Pangilinan appeared poised to make a comeback ranked fifth, an initial tally from the poll body Comelec released by local media showed as of May 13 (archived link). But there have been no official reports of him announcing he would support Duterte's conviction and a representative for Pangilinan's camp told AFP on May 8 he "made no such remark". In an earlier press conference in March, he was asked about the case and responded: "We will just have to look at the evidence. I'm a lawyer. We will have to look at whether or not there is a case. And then we will decide impartially" (archived link). A reverse image search on Google found Pangilinan's picture in an article from online media outlet Rappler that stated it was captured during a campaign rally on February 11 (archived link). A review of his full speech found he made no such remarks as the false posts alleged although he briefly alluded to Marcos and Duterte's dispute (archived link). "While all of this is happening, our countrymen are complaining about low wages, inflation and unaffordable costs of medicine," he said. Screenshot comparison of the false Facebook post (L) and photo of Pangilinan in a Rappler article The organisation iMPACT Leadership separately denied it created the image in a statement posted on Facebook May 6 (archived link). AFP has fact-checked other falsehoods related to the 2025 mid-term elections.
CNBC
13-05-2025
- Politics
- CNBC
Maria Ressa: Philippines move from Duterte to Marcos is a shift 'from hell to purgatory'
Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize winner and CEO of Rappler discusses the role technology plays in disseminating misinformation in the Philippines Midterm elections, and compares the acts of violence under the two most recent administrations, Marcos and Dutertes.
AFP
11-05-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Posts misrepresent Philippine vice president's election rally footage
She can be heard saying, "I need to mention your congressman here in this district. He is an example of how we vote automatically for those who are popular, endorsed by someone popular, came from a family of politicians or [as I said earlier] 'that's a Duterte, let's vote for that person'." "You know that congressman of yours? That Joel Chua?" The crowd reacts and shouts a name repeatedly. Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post taken on May 7, 2025 Chua led the House of Representatives committee that Duterte's alleged misuse of millions of dollars in public funds, one of the accusations that led to her impeachment in February (archived link). He is also a member of the prosecution in the vice president's forthcoming Senate trial that could remove her from office and bar her from future government posts (archived link). Chua will run against two other candidates -- Ramon Morales and Johanna Nieto -- in Manila's third district in the mid-term elections. The relationship between Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos is at a nadir, their former alliance giving way to a months-long public battle that has seen wild accusations traded, including an alleged plot to assassinate Marcos, the first lady, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez (archived link). on TikTok and on Instagram. But the crowd did not chant Marcos's name. A review of a three-hour footage of the election rally streamed live by local news organisation Rappler shows Duterte enumerating how Filipinos should choose the most qualified candidate (archived link). At the video's 3:13:58 mark, Duterte can be heard saying the same words in the circulating clip, then the crowd can be heard shouting "Apple, Apple, Apple." The Commission on Elections's database of candidates for the mid-terms shows "Apple" is Nieto's name, who is backed by Duterte and is gunning for Chua's current post as district representative (archived link). She, along with other local candidates, can be seen onstage while Duterte was speaking. Rappler's livestream shows the crowd as it shouts beginning at the 3:14:50 mark, and people can be seen mouthing "Apple", not "Marcos". A different angle of the interaction, streamed live by another local candidate from behind Duterte, also shows the crowd chanting Nieto's nickname at the clip's 7:26 mark (archived link). Later, towards the end of Duterte's speech, at the Rappler livestream's 3:45:51 mark, Duterte called Nieto to her side. The vice president handed her an apple and told her to "shove [the fruit] down Chua's throat until he chokes to death." Other local news outlets covered this campaign rally, as well as Duterte's criticism of Chua (archived here and here). Fact-check organisation Vera Files has also debunked the claim.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Philippines raises alert level at active volcano after eruption sends ash 4.5km into sky
Mount Bulusan, an active volcano in central Philippines, erupted early on Monday, sending ash 4.5 km into the sky. The eruption was phreatic, or steam-driven, lasting 24 minutes from 4.36am local time, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) confirmed. It produced a plume that reached 4.5km in height, triggering ashfall in Cogon and Bolos in Irosin, as well as in Puting Sapa, Guruyan, Buraburan, and Tulatula Sur in Juban, according to Rappler. Phivolcs raised its alert level from 0 to 1, indicating low-level volcanic unrest and the risk of phreatic eruptions. Scientists say that a phreatic eruption occurs when water beneath the earth's surface comes into contact with hot magma or rocks, causing it to rapidly turn into steam and explode. These eruptions are steam-driven, ejecting ash, gas, and debris, but do not involve new magma. IP Camera footage of the 04:36 AM eruption of Bulusan Volcano taken by the Irosin Caldera Observation Station (VBIC) southwest of the edifice. — PHIVOLCS-DOST (@phivolcs_dost) April 28, 2025 In the lead-up to the eruption on Monday, which took place between 4.36am and 5.00am, Phivolcs had detected 53 volcanic earthquakes over a 24-hour period, signalling increasing underground activity, according to Reuters. About 15 minutes prior to the eruption, local government officials reported hearing 'rumbling sounds', which were also detected by Phivolcs' infrasound sensors. Bulusan Volcano, situated in Sorsogon province, is approximately 400 km southeast of the Philippine capital, Manila, and is one of the country's most active volcanic sites. Phivolcs also urged residents to remain vigilant within an expanded 2-kilometre danger zone on the volcano's south-east flank, warning of the risk of ejected rocks, debris, rock falls and avalanches. It added that ashfall had been reported in several nearby communities. Civil aviation authorities were also instructed to alert pilots to avoid flying near Bulusan's summit, due to the potential hazards posed by volcanic ash and sudden explosive events. Phivolcs has also warned that more phreatic eruptions are possible, with potential hazards including pyroclastic density currents (PDCs), ballistic projectiles, rockfalls, avalanches, and ashfall. PDCs are 'hazardous mixtures of hot volcanic gas, ash, and fragmented rock' that travel down volcanic slopes at high speeds.
