--- description: The Rappler editor was arrested at Manila's airport Friday in what advocates see as the latest criminal retribution for her work title: Philippines Journalist Maria Ressa Arrested Again image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltff8a107dc818bba4/69894780e76ad25aab634679/maria-ressa-rappler-arrested.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Philippines](/tag/philippines/) ## Philippines Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Philippines Journalist Maria Ressa Arrested Again by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Mar 29, 2019 5:18 AM CUT  Maria Ressa, center, the award-winning head of a Philippine online news site Rappler, listens to a reporter's question after posting bail at a Regional Trial Court in the Philippines on Feb. 14, 2019. Maria Ressa, center, the award-winning head of a Philippine online news site Rappler, listens to a reporter's question after posting bail at a Regional Trial Court in the Philippines on Feb. 14, 2019.Bullit Marquez—AP by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Mar 29, 2019 5:18 AM CUT Acclaimed Philippine journalist Maria Ressa was [arrested](https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3003752/philippines-arrests-rappler-co-founder-journalist-maria "undefined") at Manila’s airport Friday for allegedly violating a ban on foreign media ownership, the latest legal backlash to sting the longtime critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, Agence France-Presse reports. This is Ressa’s second arrest in as many months, and yet another example of what free press advocates see as criminal retribution for her persistent coverage of Duterte’s government and bloody drug war. “I’m being treated like a criminal when my only crime is to be an independent journalist,” she told reporters at the airport. Ressa, CEO and Executive Editor of news site Rappler and a [TIME Person of the Year in 2018](http://time.com/5475492/maria-ressa-rappler-person-of-the-year-2018/ "undefined"), was taken into custody over a law which prevents foreign ownership of local media. Six other Rappler staff were also arrested and posted bail for their alleged violation of the so-called Anti-Dummy Law, according to [ABS CBN News](https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/27/19/ressa-rappler-executives-charged-over-anti-dummy-law "undefined"). “Seriously?!?! Imagine the tax pesos wasted. #HOLDTHELINE,” Ressa tweeted from what appeared to be the back of a police car Friday morning. > [](https://twitter.com/mariaressa/status/1111403099401277446) Rappler’s website says that Ressa plans to [post bail](https://www.rappler.com/nation/226880-maria-ressa-arrested-naia-anti-dummy-law-case-march-29-2019 "undefined") immediately. Arraignment for the case has been scheduled for April 10. Ressa was previously [arrested](http://time.com/5528416/maria-ressa-arrested-cyber-libel/ "undefined") and spent a night in jail in February on charges of “cyber libel” in relation to a 2012 story about a businessman’s alleged links to the illegal drug trade and human trafficking. She was later [freed on bail.](http://time.com/5529350/philippines-rappler-maria-ressa-bail/ "undefined") Government prosecutors have also slapped Rappler with tax and securities fraud charges, according to AFP. “It is clear that the government is manipulating the law to muzzle and intimidate one of its most credible media critics. This egregious harassment must stop,” Shawn Crispin, senior Southeast Asia representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a [statement](https://cpj.org/2019/03/philippines-issues-arrest-warrants-against-rappler.php "undefined"). **Read More:** [_The Message Behind Maria Ressa’s Cyber Libel Arrest_](http://time.com/5534382/maria-ressa-cyber-libel-arrest/ "undefined") Echoing the rhetoric of President Donald Trump, Duterte has smeared Rappler as a [“fake news outlet”](https://www.rappler.com/nation/193806-duterte-fake-news-outlet "undefined") and has banned it from covering [presidential events](https://www.rappler.com/rappler-blogs/223908-one-year-banned-from-duterte-events "undefined"). Rights groups have warned that the criminal cases against Ressa mark an escalation of Duterte’s brutal cracked down on journalists, activists and [anyone critical](http://time.com/5385672/rodrigo-duterte-antonio-trillanes-arrest/ "undefined") of him or of his violent [war on drugs,](http://time.com/philippines-drug-war/ "undefined") which has left thousands dead. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5561018/philippines-maria-ressa-arrested-fraud/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5561018/philippines-maria-ressa-arrested-fraud/"},"headline":"Philippines Journalist Maria Ressa Arrested Again","datePublished":"2019-03-29T05:18:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:10:41.180Z","description":"The case is the latest in what advocates see as criminal retribution for her work","url":"https://time.com/5561018/philippines-maria-ressa-arrested-fraud/","keywords":["Philippines","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltff8a107dc818bba4/69894780e76ad25aab634679/maria-ressa-rappler-arrested.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amy Gunia","jobTitle":"Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong.","url":"https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltff8a107dc818bba4/69894780e76ad25aab634679/maria-ressa-rappler-arrested.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"maria-ressa-rappler-arrested-fraud","caption":"Maria Ressa Rappler Arrested","creditText":"Bullit Marquez—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/philippines/","name":"Philippines"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5561018/philippines-maria-ressa-arrested-fraud/","name":"Philippines Journalist Maria Ressa Arrested Again"}}]}] ```