Press Statement of Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto
On the "cyber libel" conviction of Maria Ressa

I wish Maria Ressa victory on her appeal and hope that her conviction will be overturned. That is also the clarity the nation wants to see in the application and interpretation of a law with ambiguities and frightening consequences on our freedom.

Democracy thrives when truth can be spoken to power freely and without fear. But it is also the duty of the press to redress the grievances of people without power who have been hurt by inaccurate reporting.

A nation can withstand an occasional reckless press, but it cannot survive with a repressed one.