Maria Ressa and Press Freedom Challenges

What do you do when the president lies? Then it's repeated a million times. The critically acclaimed film about one woman's fight. I'm Maria Ressa. Maria Ressa carries the torch of press freedom in a country held in thrall by a populist president. It's gonna be bloody. Behold the count. Charges against Ressa were aimed at intimidating those who challenged the territory's rule. This is not the Philippines I knew, and I have done no crime. If you don't use your rights, you will lose them. Now on Frontline, a thousand cuts. Morning! You want to be somewhere within reaching distance? Because I will come to you for propaganda. Yeah. Pia, you're my first strike. What will you ask then? I'm assuming I'm going to ask you what it was like to get banned from the palace. Yes. Rambo, you, of course, numbers, drug war, what's changed, right? Because it's on two fronts, right? You have the people think that's the main accomplishment, so what did they really accomplish? Okay, we're making it sound. Yes. Okay. Hello and welcome. I'm Maria Ressa. We are at the 2018 State of the Nation Address. Use the hashtag Sona2018. The Rappler team is there. Rodrigo Roa Duterte, President of the Republic of the Philippines. Let me begin by putting it bluntly. The illegal drugs war will not be sidelined. Instead, it will be as relentless and chilling, if you will, as of the day it began. Your concern is human rights. Mine is human life. Wow! Since you are a fake news outlet and your articles are ripe with inventors pregnant with falsity, tell me where is our lies and I'll tell you where are yours. Okay. Fantastic! It's like, let me focus you first on what's happening in the entire information ecosystem. It's dark and light. Let me use that now, right? They're trying to actively form alternative news. And they've succeeded. Trending News Portal was a really good distribution. Mocha is a really good distribution. That's why all of a sudden our society is so polarized because that's what they're doing. This group just amplifies, pounds, but they never share. share any of the traditional news sites. And then the traditional news sites are so blind that they don't even see they're getting killed here, right? This is fascinating. It's a snapshot of our information ecosystem today. I never planned to be in politics. When I supported then Mayor Duterte, it was... it was voluntary. To reach the Moca Usan blog, 50 million people. The previous vlog contributed a lot to the campaign for President Duterte. President Duterte will be in Marawi tonight. I entered the government helping with the information dissemination of different government agencies for social media. For a dancer like me, for an entertainer like me, to be appointed in Malacanang, that's really something big. Hello, ladies and gentlemen of DDS. We're live here in our office. I'm in the social media office. Let's show them what we're going to give. I just found my car. And this is what we're going to give away. Just hold it. And last but not the least, this is a collector's item. This is a coffee table book. Duterte's Journey to the Presidency. A book about how a social media president and a president of an ordinary Filipino. 1,164 shares. How many views? It reached 233,860. I take this as a God-given mission to become President Duterte's right-hand man in his fight against drugs, criminality, and corruption. He's the first chief implementer of the government's war on drugs. After his retirement, he was chosen to clean up the Corrections Bureau, also plagued with a legal drug problem. Hey everyone! You're still using it? Your teeth are going to fall off! Hey you! You too! You're done! Hey! You're still using it! You used this soap too much! F***! Hey! Your teeth are going to fall off! Your jaw is going to fall off! Hey! Oh my! You're out of your teeth! You're out of your gums! That's the soap! You're the one who's out of your gums! Okay, go ahead! Keep your soap there! Keep it there! And let's see how far we can go! I'll help you! Do you have any hope to change the way you use and sell sebo? But I don't care about you. I have a way to stop you. Trust me. I have my own way of stopping you from doing it. In your illegal acts, trust me, believe you me, I can stop you. So, that's a gentleman's word. Yes, sir. That's a gentleness agreement, okay? Yes, sir. A gentleness agreement. Watch out if you hear anything. There should be no Sputnik involved in the drugs, okay? Yes, sir. That's a gentleman's word, okay? Yes, sir. That's not a bribe. Yes, sir. Make sure of it. Okay, thank you very much. Yes, sir. We're sitting now with Davao Mayor Rudy Duterte. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for your time. Can you please? You are the man of the hour. People wanted to know whether you're running for president, vice president. Yes, no. Where are you? I told you to avoid me. I'm telling the Filipino people, huag ako, it's going to be bloody. So no qualms about killing killers? Yes, of course. I must admit that I have killed. Three months early on, I killed about three people. The level of poverty on the ground is phenomenal. They've had other presidents and other governments, and their lives have not gotten better. But the government is not for the people. Duterte comes in, he offers not just change, he offers revenge. Whoever did this to you, I will stop it. If you didn't kill me now, Four months from now, I will really be a Lillitso. Rodrigo Duterte and Alan Peter Cayetano campaign in Kayenta, one of the most vote-rich towns in Rizal. I've covered Duterte for a long time. I covered Duterte when he was still a mayor, who everybody thought was just a wild card. What's your favorite breakfast? Usually salted fish and eggs. Sun is set up. He had a reputation of being an iron-fisted mayor. He had a lot of nicknames. Like people were calling him Duterte Harry or the Dirty Harry of Mindanao. Sir, because you're a journalist, now you're exempted from assassination. He may have been a politician, but he was an outsider politician, like a small-time politician. So his messaging was being... someone cut out from political elite circles in Manila. I'm an outsider and I'm here to change everything. Moco Girl! Moco Girl! A little shout out for Moco Girl! Moco Girl! You ain't a bop! President, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si It took three hours. The first body was found a few blocks away from where it's from. Please, sir. How long this time? A year. Actually, that's what I'm going to start off with, and I'll just say that a year ago, this is what we talked then, and you've done everything you've said. In the hindsight, did you really believe that? I had a good chance of making it. All of our surveys showed it. We had a... I'll show you all the statistics. Yeah. We knew by February. Wait, what standard did you get? Social media. They're powerful. By February, we knew. In 2016, Rappler fought two levels of impunity. The first was the drug war. War on drugs became a war on the poor. We had one team that would go out every night. They would come home with at least eight dead bodies a night. The narrative of the government is that they fought back. These are extrajudicial killings or murder. If we're doing something wrong, you can't criticize us, my hybrids. We're the ones who are wrong. If we're wrong, we're wrong. But I hope, I hope, you know, deep inside your heart. You know you're competing with the world reps. Thank you, sir. Impunity in the drug war was a continuing series. We put faces and names to the people being killed. We demanded the government be held accountable. Anyone on Facebook who questioned the people who were being killed was automatically bashed. We began to gather data. We began to look at the accounts attacking all of media. We stumbled onto something. Disinformation networks. When you see the network that spreads it, you can follow other networks, and then you can see its growth. Mid-September, I started writing. First, the weaponization of the internet. The second piece was how Facebook algorithms impact democracy. As soon as we released it, we got pounded. I was getting an average of 90 hate... messages per hour. Moca Uson blog, she attacked Rappler, said, oh, Rappler's CIA. Followed by another blogger, thinking Pinoy, who seeded the ideas that were foreign-controlled. Rappler is misrepresenting itself in an essence. It's like, what is this? It's foreign-based. This Rappler. Right? They're not really... Filipino-owned company. It was the second State of the Nation address. It comes out of President Duterte's mouth. Rappler, try to pierce the identity and you will end up American ownership. You are supposed to be 100% Filipino. Of course, we were covering it live. I automatically tweeted, Mr. President, you're wrong. I was told later on that offended him. What do you do when the president lies? Then it's repeated a million times. So people have no idea what the truth is. This set the stage. A week after the president did that, we got our first subpoena. January 2018, the government tried to close Rappler, tried to revoke our license to operate. In a little more than a year, we faced 11 cases. Okay, sir. Sir, earlier in your speech, you said that the issue on the SEC ruling against Rappler is not an issue of press freedom. But at the same time, during your speech, you were giving comments about the media and about Rappler and Inquirer that we're overreacting. So what does that mean, sir? You say that this is not an attack on media, but you also have attacks on media in your own speech. Let me give you an example. Don't get too excited. Your inquisitive mind goes beyond its normal proportions. One of these days I'll file a plunder case. If I file a plunder case, you will go to jail without the bail. Because the end goal is to actually make you doubt the facts. O-CAT! O-CAT! O-CAT! Congressman, how do you find that? If it was on Facebook, it was an honest mistake. Good morning, we are joined today by former Philippine National Police Chief Ronald Bataw de la Rosa, who is now the Bureau of Corrections Chief. As soon as you file your COC, you will be deemed resigned. Yes, that would be important. What made you decide to actually run for Senator? I don't know what I want to do. At the same time, the construction of the building, I don't want to be a government. I want to be a government. But other people also see it as the way of the president to put loyal lieutenants in the Senate. That's why supposedly he wants you there and also Bong Goin, who is really loyal to the president to protect his interests, not just his agenda of governance. Yes, I will be killed when I become president. Anybody would like to bring down the president? I'm right in front of you. If you come closer, I'll kill you. I don't have an idea. I told you before that I'm on social media. I'm a believer in what I believe. That's why I'm on live streaming. Hello, DDS fans. We're here. Wait, what's my name? Your boss is already talking to us. No need for that. A prominent critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested. Maria Ressa is CEO of......for a cyber-liable case was served past 5 p.m. inside Rappler's office in Basque City. Press freedom advocates say the government's charges against her are retaliation for... reporting of authorities in the Philippines. The RTC branch reported six warrants of arrest for violating anti-cyber crime law. We'll go to the NBI now. We'll go to the NBI. Can you guys come? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for your comment. We just need to finish the process. Excuse us. I'm running the clock because I have to sleep. What do they think they can do by keeping me over here? Guys, can you go to the MDI team? Why are they not helping me? We have until 9 o'clock to be able to post bail. Without the right documents, we cannot post. so that stumbling blocks to prevent in tonight's period. They're putting the delays on purpose. Free Maria Ressa! Free Maria Ressa! Free Maria Ressa! Free Maria Ressa! Free Maria Ressa! My stay last night at the NBI really made me think about what this is all about, right? And for me, it's about two things. Abuse of power and weaponization of the law. This isn't just about me, and it's not just about Rappler. I'll be very transparent, because I have done nothing. Sorry. This case, the cyber libel case, the National Bureau of Investigation's own lawyers threw it out. But they reversed their position, and the Department of Justice and the government prosecutors now are taking this. The story which supposedly violated the cyber libel laws, published seven years ago, four months before the actual law we supposedly violated had even been enacted. They're applying a law retroactively, right? International journalist organizations are saying this is an attack on the media. Blaming the administration for it. Versus Mario Seng. Your policy on critical media. I don't want to talk about it. You are the critical media. Thank you. Thank you. It means nothing to me. When the war on drugs started, a lot of people were dying. The government wasn't quick enough to show how many people were dying, how many people were gunned down in police operations, how many people were gunned down by vigilante-style killers. So there's this counting with the government. 4,500 gunned down within police operations. Human rights advocates estimate the killings to be around 20,000, including the killings which were at least inspired by the war on drugs of President Duterte. Tonight we are following a team of policemen conducting a simultaneous anti-crime and law enforcement operations to seize people who are violating city ordinances following the order of President Rodrigo Duterte to go after Tambays. We will see how they execute the order of the president. You can have an interview here, I'll just go down. Ricky, are you guys drug cleared? Are you guys drug cleared here? No, not yet. How long have you been here? I was just going around. I thought you were going to the pub. I mean, is the barangay already declared as drug cleared? Yes, they know that we are clean here. Congratulations, sir. They really care. And with the help of the sir, he's really clean. Sir Big. If he's not here, we wouldn't be able to clean like this. It's nice to have a city. Are you guys having a coffee? No, I'm not. Marangga? Yes. Oh, okay. Ang importante po is a woman who stands without fear, without threat to her life, that she is willing to run alongside giants and along honorable men. 36, this is the woman, I-9. I'm here to see the Lord. I-9, how are you? You look beautiful this morning. You look beautiful this morning. It's a trial for our country. It's a trial for our democracy. There needs to be genuine opposition. The excuse that people say is like, we're tired, we want results. We want people who really fight drugs. We want people to look... at safe streets. I understand that, of course, everyone wants that. But you cannot kill the young. You cannot kill youth. You cannot kill a man for the sake of, you know, like cleaning up the streets. You cannot be judged and executioner at one time. I want to share with you, this is my advocacy in the fight against illegal drugs. I hope you will try our war, our war against illegal drugs. That's all. Do you want to hear my song? What I'd do without your smart mouth Throwing me in and you kicking me out Got my head spinning, no kidding I can't pin you down What's going on in that beautiful mind I'm on your magical mystery My personal advocacy, my fight against illegal drugs, I hope you will support me. There is no next president because our president is strong now. So our children are sorry. Don't let it happen again. I love you, Daddy Patong! I love you, Patong! We were in a place called Cessna. It was a murder. So one body on the ground, sprawled. His eyes were open, he was dead. And we were shooting. Everyone was shooting and the brother showed up. And they were screaming. Because he was dead. And... We were all crowded and I remember someone from Playboy magazine asking someone to translate. So I said, f*** you. I didn't mean f*** you to the guy, but the brothers really were saying f*** you. And I remember that. I don't know why I remember that. But two seconds after that, I could hear a wailing from the other side of the alley. And I'm not sure they were words. The mother had discovered her son was dead. And in the narrowest alley that I had ever seen, there was a woman who was crawling along the wall of the shanties, hanging on to grills, trying to pull herself to her son, because her legs wouldn't work. She was trembling, and she was screaming. And... On top of all the screaming, there were journalists who were also screaming. Is your son an addict? How do you feel? What's his name? What's your name? All of that. It was one of my first days. And I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if I was supposed to step in, if I was supposed to... I didn't know what I was supposed to do. So I just recorded. And then the mother, who was still screaming, heard the question. and being Filipino answered them at a wail. No, my son is good. No, he's a good boy. He's a good boy. He's a good boy. I can't forget the scream. The story was called Execution at Cessna. Isn't President Duterte the President? Shouldn't we submit to his authority? We respect the government, we respect the President. Maria Reza said... It seems like they're saying that most of the people in the Mokauson Vlogs are paying trolls, fake accounts, or bots. We are being accused of being a propaganda. I'm laughing here. Pro-Duterte propaganda. Wow! Propaganda na pala ngayon ng maging makabayan. Troll na pala ang pagiging patriotic. Hi guys, so we're now here at Rappler office. Ayan po. prove to miss resa that you know we are not trolls that we are here to express our outreach and fight for our country yes they are destroying our country and we're not going to sit here and let them do it so and this is what we're going to say to miss resa and to the people at raffler Tell your boss she has no business destroying your economy. She's American. You take your orders from an American. How can you live with yourselves? This one, this is wild. Because that account posted and then it was amplified by, what's his name, by MOGA. Everything can be turned upside down. Shh, I just let Facebook know. Just this morning, they said come to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Yeah, yeah, for a physical protest at our office. The worst thing of course is the government amplified their call. Well, we don't even know whether we can trust the police to protect us. Our security will now be ramped up one to six times. I also am going to deal with that. And I want you guys to be very aware of your surroundings. We've always been like that anyway. And please report immediately if there is anything that you see that is strange, right? They wanted to come to prove they weren't trolls, but then their very action is actually proving they're trolls. And then that is what incited all the comments. So that's the liability that we think they have. Because those threats would never have happened if they never did the Facebook Live outside our office. Umm, speaking the devil's advocate position, they will argue that they're just exercising their right to free speech and they don't have any hold over their BBS supporters. But they have hold over their timeline. They could have deleted it, they could have... told their people, hey, that's not good, you shouldn't say things like that, or hey, that's illegal. The fact that they didn't, and in fact even encouraged it, Facebook took it down because this is inciting to hate and inciting to violence. That's the policy they violated. We'd like to continue with our live Facebook. You know who's this for, right? Who is it for? Maria, Maria. Mike. Mike, alright. Losers. Are you a troll? Not a troll. You look like a cheat troll though. Bitch. Yeah, tell her, tell her. We are the Devil Slayer, people. Okay, we will continue later. And that... Is any of it being shared? Where's Mocha? Mocha wasn't there. Okay. But she amplified the call to... Go here? Yeah. With the timing of it, why now? Hmm, oh I know that. Election! If you look at it, Moka has already earned 1 million, right? 5 million, you see? So, he can do it. Yes, as long as he can convert everything, right? He can do it, right? When I dropped out from med school, my parents were really hurt. They said I wasn't the professional entertainer. My father was also a thug for a long time. Then one night, he called me on the phone. We talked. Then when I was about to go to sleep, he texted me. He said, I love you, son, no matter what. So I was surprised. There was a closure. Finally he has accepted the path that I chose. So I went to bed very happy. The next day, we got a call. He's dead. Shot six times. He was assassinated. Two people riding in tandem. Because he was a judge and he was handing a... Mayoral electoral protest. So it was political. President Duterte said it right. There are criminals pretending to be politicians. That's what killed my father. Violence, and you say this, you know, violence is okay. Violence is a strength. Is it necessary to lead? There is a need because there's a war. And with that kind of problem in my hands now, I tell you, Maria, until I see the last forces out of the state, until the last Ragnar is killed. This campaign will continue to the very last day of my term. Is it important that people be afraid of you? Yes. But Mr. President, as president, you now also defend the Constitution. Yes. And so again, this is a contradiction from our last interview. You break the law, you threaten to break the law, you said you had killed it a year ago, right? You told me that. And yet, you now have the task of keeping the rule of law. And you said you would do that also. How do you? Because the rule of law, there must be fear. Thank you for having me. We are so honored to be here. It's about time. No. I mean, and thank you for the statement. I saw you got trolled. Right away. You got trolled there. And we had a bomb threat yesterday, so that's a good sign. At a time when our basic rights are constantly being threatened, human lives are being disregarded, and our freedoms are under attack, Maria Reza's resilience has become revolutionary. In our moments of doubt, allow us to draw strength and courage from you. My arrest doesn't hurt me because it only makes me more resolute because I see firsthand how the law is bent to the point that it is broken. What we're seeing is death by a thousand cuts of our democracy. And it is done... Then think about the bleeding, right? Little cuts, little cuts to the body politic, to the body of Philippine democracy. And when you have enough of these cuts, you are so weakened. That you will die. We at Rappler, I've said this, it's been a year now since I've said this, we will not duck, we will not hide, we will hold the line. Join us. I am not talking about food, medicine, infrastructure, but about the lives of thousands of Filipino youth who are afraid of the law. I am not talking about the lives of thousands of Filipino youth who are afraid of the law. I am a man who is a man of my word. I am a man of my word. If you want me to say something, you have to let my wife go. She is a womanizer. If you want me to go, I am far away from... from... from this womanizer. Now, you're here. Okay, you're done. I can now go back to my home. The problem is, I can't go back. I've been here for months. I'm going to sing a song, and I'm going to sing a song. Are you ready? But there are many youths who were killed without a trace. The youths were killed, not the rioters. The rioters came from the roots of men and even the authorities. You're a child, you didn't stop the race! What kind of government is that? The trolls, they hate me because I attacked the president. It's the president, he's talking about his penis. I mean... Isn't that something to be like mindful about? It's like appalling. It's appalling to have this kind of language. So we cannot have this six-year presidency or administration hijack all the values that we fought for, that we cherish. We cannot. What do you know about the Bongos interview? Sir, as far as we're concerned, we've already addressed the issue of fairness on that article. Can you just answer, please, the question? We don't understand the question. Because you look at your articles, you can't do anything about your fellow human beings every day. Just because you have the power of what? Press freedom? You are a Filipino who has allowed to abuse our country. And you are an active participant of that. That is the difficult part. In the name of the Holy Grail of Press Freedom. Your boss, what is his case? You are idiots. Your reporters, they will be allowed to criticize us. but you go to jail for your crime. So, what are your instructions? That you are not allowed to do this. Only me? Yes, ma'am. Just a PR and a raveler? Yes, ma'am. Hi, Dico. Yes, ma'am. Duterte banned me from Malacanang because he was annoyed by our reporting. It hurts. That's really been demoralizing. I mean, I'm a reporter. I want access. So why should you care about what happens in the Philippines, right? For one, we spend the most time on the internet, more than 10 hours a day. We spend the most time on social media globally. And as we found out, lies... laced with anger and hate, spread fastest. When you only look at content, it's a whack-a-mole game. I want to figure out what the lie is, then look at the network that spreads the lies. That's the nervous system. We started looking at one account that was attacking. All journalists are corrupt. one account that had 25 followers. They were all following each other. We fact-checked every single item. These were all fake accounts. We began to count and found that 26 fake accounts can influence up to 3 million other accounts. Three million. I think the first attacks, this word prostitutes, you can even track this word. Mocha Uson starts to popularize prostitutes. I think he'd be annoyed. picks it up, then it's repeated a million times to make you distrust institutions, to shift the way you think. In May 2017, we did a story on the transcript of Trump's call with President Duterte. Rappler just made the Philippines a legitimate target of North Korean nuclear missiles. It's laughable, but people believe it. It jumped to I can smell an arrest and possible closure of Rappler.com. Then from there we go to sexualized attacks, fuel misogyny. Women are a favorite easy target. Hashtag arrest Maria Ressa. It didn't trend. And that's probably why it took them another two years to actually arrest me. That was the end goal. Party's now in session. We took the 15th, 13th, and 11th standings in the U.S. Army. Maria Ann will be interested in that work in court. Let's go. Atras, atras. We don't have a way. We don't have a way. Atras, atras. We don't have a way. I know many of you received press releases that this is a private citizen. Please understand that it is the Department of Justice that is... is actually going against us. This is the Philippine government. It's the Philippine government that is filing this. The Department of Justice prosecutors are there. This is your tax pesos at work. Thank you. For AA Casocio, ang boses ng ordinaryong Pilipino. Are you ready? Let's all welcome Mocha Puzo. Good afternoon to all of us. Good afternoon. I'm just going to greet the people who are having fun and are enjoying our company. Good afternoon, ma'am. I think we're getting late. I'm here on the right. Can I hear you? Hip hip! Hip hip! Hip hip! Ayan, dito naman po sa gitna. Pwede ba kayo rin po? Hip hip! Hip hip! Hip hip! Hip hip! Ayun o, parang nakikilala ko sa kapitan. Lagi nanonood ng Mocha Girls ito ah. Maraming ba bang sumusuporta kay Pangulong Duterte? Duterte! Ayan ba, pwede bang tatlong beses isigaw po nating Duterte? Duterte! Duterte! Duterte! I really messed up because I didn't have a message. I have my message but I wasn't able to focus on the message. I was just there to entertain! So I've learned my lesson. Okay, you guys keep eating. I'm taking you out, Dad. I think we should just try to find a weekend and do a beach. Miss the beach. Hold on, let me look at my calendar. There's a Human Rights Awards thing. And then FCC. And then I go to New York. And then I'm in New York until the 24th. And I come home on the 25th, Saturday night, though, at like 11 at night. We could do, oh no. I can't because after Saturday night, then I have Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday in Manila. Then I leave at like 1130 at night on Thursday for Glasgow. This is impossible. Unless we do Sunday, Monday. We could do Sunday, Monday. Sunday the 26th to 27th. Then. And I'm in Geneva on the 3rd. My happy to be leaving. It's just a non-stop marathon. I'm upset one court put a half a million peso bond on top. Now I'm almost up at three million pesos that the government has asked for, for me to be free. Because if I didn't do that, I'd lose my constitutional right to travel. Welcome to Cebu, welcome to our hearts. Welcome to our streets and to my history. Mayor Inday Sara Duterte! The next president is Mayor Sara Duterte. Mayor, in the PCIJ report, your wealth has increased by six times from 2007 to 2017, and they're asking for an explanation. I don't have an obligation to explain to PCIJ about... The income of our spouse It won't end there if I answer the PCIJ Then I will answer the others Maria Ressa, executive editor and CEO of Rapport, with Matt Thompson, the editor-in-chief of the Center for Investigative Reporting. Good morning. I can tell you that countless editors across the country are asking the question, what would Maria Ressa do? That's scary. You've gotten to see a democracy slide into... increasing authoritarian present. What lessons do you have from that experience, from witnessing that, that we should be really attentive to sitting here in Washington, D.C.? I think first is what happens happens in America, happens to the rest of the world. I mean, in order to solve this, you have to act. And I'll tell you two reasons, right? Just earlier this month, I spent time with the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower, Christopher Wiley. The whistleblower said they tested the tactics of how to manipulate you in our countries and in other countries in the global south. And the reason why he said that was because we don't have strong government. They can get away with impunity. And then if it worked in our countries, then they would, his word was, port it over to you. So the first step is, I think we have to realize that something horrific has already happened. And that we are at this existential moment where if nothing significant is done, journalism is only the first part. Journalism and democracy. as we know it, is dead. We're in your dystopian future. I think the last part I forgot to say is that data is plutonium, right? We go back to nuclear war. That's the only thing. This was where we went to elementary school, in. And Walnut Street. I never really knew where home was. My parents were both Filipinos. My real father died when I was a year old. My mom went to the States, so I guess like an overseas Filipino worker. My stepfather, my dad, now, they came back and got us. My family left when I was 10. My primary language is Tagalog. So when I landed in New Jersey, I had to learn how to speak English. You try to leave behind being brown. You try to... to understand what you're walking into. And the best way I could deal with that was you work really, really hard, 150%. It's proving that I belong. You have to prove you deserve it. What can you say, right? What can you say? Where are we going? We'll go. Well, I think we'll go and post mail. Well, I would like to post mail. A prominent Philippines journalist, Maria Reza, has been arrested on fraud charges. Last month, Ms. Reza, the executive editor of a news website, Rappler, was arrested over an alleged internet libel case. Prosecutors filed the latest charges against her while Reza was on a trip in the U.S. Media watchdogs say the charges against Reza were aimed at intimidating those who challenged Duterte's rule and his war on drugs. The plaintiff is undergoing the case. And after this, what would you say? So there are two charges. One for anti-dummy, one for securities and regulation code. So this warrant is for the anti-dummy issued yesterday. Yeah, this is on me. Take it on your side. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The seventh time I posted bail, the second time I've been arrested, it's obviously clear I am not a travel risk, right? Because I came home even after the new charges were laid out and the arrest warrant was issued. This is not the Philippines I knew. This is not the Philippines. I voluntarily chose as my home country. And it's shocking that after a 14-hour flight, you're, you know, and I have done no crime. I'm certainly not a flight risk that I'm greeted by police who will take me there. Jump, jump. Going in the back, going in the back. Did I say too much? Oh my god! Oh, oh, grab it. Joseph, don't we have to be extra careful now? The People Power Revolt happened. Not a shot was fired and a government was changed. As a kid just coming out of school and feeling the exuberance of that, I wanted to come back to the Philippines. This country was actively creating what the future was going to look like. We were building institutions. I felt 20 years later, the Philippines was going to be an amazing country. I worked at CNN. I ran the Manila Bureau for almost a decade. And in 1995, I opened the Jakarta Bureau. I was there until 2005. We had covered every single country in Southeast Asia as they transitioned from authoritarian one-man rule to democracy. That was incredible. I decided I would make the Philippines my home. I love you. I'm a man, I'm a man, I'm a man I'm a man, I'm a man, I'm a man I'm a man, I'm a man, I'm a man You would expect a government to use subtle means to stifle dissent. You do not expect a government to outright say, I am banning you, and then start implementing. You're actually standing in the line of fire, as what we call it. We always say that the line of fire is a place of honor. And that's what you're doing right now for your profession, especially under these circumstances. This is not one of those simple cases. If I have a problem... Already finding lawyers to take it on, then you know how different your case is. They want you to hide. So this is actually the reverse of what they want. They want to be able to say, this is only about Pia, this brat who keeps on pestering the president with hard questions. They can't see that now because apparently it's not just about Pia. I don't know anything about that. We are journalists. Physical presence in a newsworthy event is integral to our work. Asking officials questions face-to-face is integral to our work. Malacanang's ban prevents us from doing our jobs. Press freedom, free speech, due process, and equal protection are guaranteed by the Constitution. We're asking the Supreme Court to affirm these fundamental rights. I'm going to show you what Rappler did in Manila. In the Philippines, there's no such thing as investigative journalism. It's just money. I'll show you what they did in the quarter. That's why I'm saying that there's a life for it. Rappler and other people, they're just writers. They only have salary for writing? They don't have a life. They sent a client to attack. ACDC. They are attacking. You don't want to see your mother's children being imputed? This is just insane. The palace is now coming out with a press release saying that confirming their Aus Duterte coup plot. I mean, how could you even? Who briefed you about the Matrix? I can tell you, just listen to my conversation. So the President told you how it... He didn't say it. He said he would send him a matrix. I said, what is that? Mr. President? He said, it's an Austrian plot against me. You asked him how it works? Tina, I just said, how can I make a video like this? Tell them that it's from me, Ms. Gwen. They can ask me. Three hours to go to the three companies. So there's no authority to explain to us? from the intelligence community, from cyber division of NBI? No. A mere piece of paper? Do you want us to believe? Our God is the President, so believe. In the ruffler, who are those people? That's it. It was named there. And in the PCI chain? The National Union of People's Lawyer. They're laying the groundwork for a non-bailable charge. It's like, it's fantasy. Oh, I'm going to show you the gap. Maria, come here. I'll show you. Can you see it? So this is a nice material. I'm not gonna wear that. Maria, try it first! I'm not gonna wear that. It's a gown, my gosh! Come on! No, no, no! Look! Oh my god, it's gonna be so beautiful! No, number one, number two, it's also long. It's okay, you can pick it up. Let me see what you're wearing. Let me see what you got. There's not enough time to have it fixed anyway. You don't get it fixed. That's the thing. They just flow. What? Seriously, let me see what you got. I think you should try it on. You think you should try it on? I think you should try it on. I'll trip on it. Maria, when you... When you have it on, and you're walking, you lift it. And then you trip on it. And then, no, when you lift it, then you can walk with your loafers up wherever you're going. I know. Yes. No, look. Maria, why don't you try first? You don't even know. It's so beautiful. You have a great shape for it. You can wear it. No, I'm not. This is a small... And besides, I'll be cold. I'll be cold because I want a jacket. It's 75 degrees tomorrow. It's not 75 degrees. Yes, it is. Does it show snack? Because let me see what you're wearing then I guess we have to go to rent the runway now. I Told you I brought two I've seen I know you've seen this, but I haven't worn it since, like, a long time ago, a decade ago. It works! Do you even want to see, or do you care? I don't want... Because the shoe makes the outfit. These shoes are okay. Check this out. No. Mary Jane, I can't wear heels. You can wear heels. You can wear heels. That would be, like, awesome. Look at it. No, thanks. That way, when you wear your dress, uh... Watch. That's why this is shorter. This is like a flat. No, no, no, no, I don't wear things like that. Maria, this will be so nice. I've never worn things like that. You know I've never worn things like that. Go out of the box. No thanks. You're 50s now. No thanks. We're no longer safe. She and I were born in the Philippines, but we made different choices, starting with the place we call home. For Mary Jane, home is here, in New York. I chose my home in Manila, the Philippines. For better or worse, I hope I'm not going to... It's ironic that even though our choices are different, our two nations now have the same type of leaders. Macho, populist, sexist at best, misogynistic at worst. They both... Use anger and fear to divide and conquer. They've created a politics of hate. We need to put hope and love, but I'm going to sound so schmaltzy. It's not with hate, but with hope and love. We hold the line. Is that too much? No. Is it corny? Maria, it has to be yours. It's you. You're corny then. Check my face. Let's go. Let's go. What did you say? Check my face? I said, shut up in your face. We stupidly believe goodness wins over evil. May the force be with you. Are you going to say that? Are you really going to say that? Oh my God. What an incredible room full of people. I mean the energy from the Mother of Dragons to Nancy Pelosi. It is the... I don't know what to do with it. I mean, it's a completely chaotic time where technology has helped make facts disputable, eroded truth, and crippled trust. It's incredibly easy for governments to get away with this kind of behavior. That's why they're using trials, because it gives them a way to silence dissent and yet have a veil of legitimacy. You know, one of the things that I take away from today, having heard people who were behind bars. speak out is you know apathy is the enemy and we need people to be angry and to care and if you go to trialwatch.org you will see a get involved button and that doesn't mean send money it actually means tell us about trials that you're worried about it means volunteer to be a monitor so please help us make this a success Yeah, I would also say just my takeaway from today, we had all these panels and we were with President Nasheed who spent time in jail for telling the truth and Mohamed Fahmy who also spent time in jail for telling the truth and Jason Raziel, you know, spent time in jail for telling the truth. in jail for telling the truth uh um maria is uh where is she oh there maria is uh is going back to the philippines she's been been arrested twice in the last five weeks. The rest of you are out. Maria is about to risk going back and she's going back because she believes that shining a light on crime, shining a light in general is the best. The most important thing is she won't be afraid. I'm afraid for her. And all of us here are so proud of your ability to shine a light. And we're all going to do everything we can to make sure it stays loud for you. Thank you again. And reach out anytime. I'll do it through David, is that alright? Yes, no, he should give you my very free manager. Oh, yeah, sure. Let me... How about on here? Can you write it on there? Yes, thank you. I'll write it. I'll write you and I'll answer the questions you ask. And look, whichever way is most helpful to you. Yeah. Thank you. Thanks so much. Too many things happening. Have you heard about this? This happened this week. So the palace released a matrix of coup plotters. And it includes my organization as well as other independent news groups. And me. And now the Philippine National... Police say they will investigate the journalists on that list. Do I have more support outside than inside the Philippines? I think we have a lot of support in the Philippines. But I think anyone who stands up has a lot to lose. Our country needs the mission of journalism even more today than at any other time. It's a big irony on my part to be a religious person and at the same time waging the war on drugs that resulted to deaths of thousands. The anti-government forces, you can never satisfy them. Everything that the government does is wrong for them. So I don't care about them. I care about the ordinary people who have been suffering from this. So these ordinary people say, sir, it's okay, thank you for what you're doing. Our streets now are safer, our communities are a lot safer. We can just let our children walk, go to the school, we're not being molested by the drug personalities, by the drug addicts, by the drug abusers. What I saw out in the streets never really escaped me, it never really left me. I still remember vividly how... bodies are left in the streets and how families are traumatized and the trauma of the family isn't just theirs they also it also took to some extent gets passed on to me and i remember how how they feel the feeling of losing someone so brutally it affected me and sometimes it also appears in my dreams I'm terrified daily because I'm so close to the ground. The concern isn't getting hit from above, it's getting hit from below. It's not that the president will name me, but that Astoria I did wrong. or a person I shouldn't have named would die because of what I did. And half of me is the journalist who wants the story. And the other half is, I do not want to be party to anything like this. It sort of leaks into every part of your life, the paranoia. Sorry. Si Maria Sessa. I thought she doesn't scare easily. I do. I can't not go back. I mean that sounds really... uh... It's easy to say, but I actually did think about this. There's... I have to return. And part of it is also, regardless of what happens, then, you know, chronicling what does happen, right? Thank you. Thank you. That's good. No. None. We're okay. We're good. That's where they picked up before. Ladies and gentlemen, let us welcome Ms. Pia Raniera. It's quite challenging to be a journalist now. We feel like we're criminals for being journalists. Okay, next. But we're fighting it. Other Rappler reporters and I went to the Supreme Court and we filed a petition asking... the Supreme Court to lift the ban. This is our first offensive against the government. Because previously we've always just been at the receiving end of these legal cases. And I'm just so proud of my company that despite all of our attacks, all of the legal cases against us, they still... Sorry. They still muster the resources and the willpower to file a case on our behalf. And you know, you don't have a boss like that every day. It takes a certain kind of boss to stand up against a greater power when they're already themselves. On the receiving end of so many attacks. So thank you Maria and the rest of Rappler for standing up for us. And you know, we're just praying. Thank you. I said to the President, Do not do drugs. Because I will kill you. I still have three years. I will kill you all. Look at this. It's not an easy job. That's the President. You have content with this son of a bitch. And with the bitch in media. My question is, the victims are the 27,000 victims of LGK, the marginalized Filipinos, the drug runners, and of course the media. But how about the rest of us? Do we feel victims? I myself, I don't feel victim. In fact, my retirement pay went up. In fact, we feel safe. What are you going to do about making us feel also victims? We don't buy drugs. I'll quote to you one of the most famous Holocaust poems of all time. First, they came for the socialists and I did not speak out because I was... not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me."This was a poem by Martin Niemöller and the Inquirer pushed it down to one sentence for today. First they came for the journalists. We don't know what happened after that. Transcriber's Name Reviewer's Name I have been appointed as counsel for another award-winning journalist, Maria Ressa. Ms. Ressa was one of four journalists named as Time magazine's Person of the Year for what Time called, quote, great risks in pursuit of greater truth. The government's response has been to arrest her and initiate a series of civil and criminal cases that expose her to a maximum sentence of 63 years in prison. Colleen was asking if we've had to make adjustments based on what's happening with you and your safety. And are we safe? She actually asked, you know, are you guys safe? And I think that your friends didn't even realize how... How dangerous it is for you. We'll have a relative. A relative. And funny that you say it that way because I did tell her you dismiss. I'm not dismissing it, it's just done. We've dealt with it, we know what can happen and I'm okay with it. And... Well even that resignation, you know that... You know, like, I know you don't want to worry mom and dad, or the siblings, or... Because no one else really needs to know, right? That your life is a danger? All we need to know is just we're doing our work. That's... It's not that it's anyone's. Anyone's is, right? We're not different from anyone else, except a little bit more. This year, when at the trial watch, Jason Rezaian, who was like in prison for 500 something days, and then Mohammed Fahmy was in Egypt, and he was in prison for 340 years. eight days and so that was like the first time where I really had to figure out okay I have it um am I okay with this if this happens can I deal with it and took me a little bit but I can deal with it and so we keep going and I forgot this bummer shocks can I forget it it's a very real possibility your actions what I do will determine how real it is I mean intent is always there and I think part of what will make us give us a better defense is if we're not afraid because the first factor is to make you afraid and you shouldn't be afraid And if I'm not afraid, I'll be a much better... I'll actually prepare better for the worst case if I'm not afraid. And the only way to not be afraid is to understand the worst case scenario and embrace it. You mean you're prepared to go to jail? Are you prepared to... No, the point is that... You know, I don't want to see you becoming a martyr in all of this. This is a stupid conversation. I don't like this. I think you're talking about reality. No, but I've already done this. I've dealt with it already. Not with me. I know. But you don't need... You need to deal with it and you shouldn't deal with it. Well, that's not fair. No. Why are you crying? Because I'm scared for you. Yeah, but you shouldn't. I'll... We're okay. We're ready. Okay! General Bato, Dela Rosa, where are we on the war on drugs? Can you give us your assessment? We are still far from our dreams of a drug-free Philippines. We are still far, but if you compare... But according to previous administrations, the problem is getting bigger. The problem on drugs has worsened. After many deaths, after the death theory, the problem of drugs is even bigger now. Your war on drugs has failed. A reminder to the audience, please behave. Please show respect to all the candidates. Thank you very much. The big problem is, they're shooting at small and small pushers. They're shooting at poor people. Where are the drug lords? That's my question. General Bato has a question. If you wage the war on drugs, you cannot be selective in implementation of justice. If you say war on drugs, that's a lie. Everyone should be hit. Okay. So, very calmly, let us... Okay. How can I calm down? They are all eight, not one. Because where are we now if President Duterte did not launch the eight drugs? Maybe all of our children are now zombies walking on the streets, who are already being killed. Or who are becoming... Silence. Silence of the public means there is an overstretch of too much power by our executive, the president. We are in the last few days and I asked Jodez how she was doing. Do you know what she said? Here, she has to tell you. I said, Jodez, how are you? I'm enjoying the last days of democracy. What am I going to answer there? Right? I am enjoying the last days of democracy. Alright. We still think there is hope. Do we not? Yes. Look. Smile. Promise. It could be surprising. We have 61.8 million registered voters. They are going to the polls for 12 hours to choose more than 18,000 elected positions. Right up top, 12 members of the Senate, 12 senators are going in. Number 83. Rosa has actually voted. This is Pia's photo of him voting. There's also this, I don't know, fragmented opposition because ultra-direction, right? Right, right. In Davao, the Duterte children set the sweep local elections. That doesn't seem like too much of a surprise, right? Vote Baye! as well as obstruction of justice. These are questions that we are going to ask the Knesset. He is set to consolidate his power. You know, that's why the Senate race is so important, because then we'll see if we can actually balance what the president is doing. The Senate is a last standing independent body in terms of voting for what President Duterte wants. Hey guys, I have a hearing tomorrow. Ah, arraignment pala. And the headline, opposition bets fail to get in the Magic 12. The day is president, the institution has morphed, the man hasn't changed, the legislature, the executive, the judiciary, the checks and balances, well they're bending to the man, so there we go. 2019 was a difficult year, right? I never had any doubts that Rappler had my back. And I hope you guys all know, I think our nation has our back. You can't fight monsters by becoming monsters. I'm quoting Bono. And what prevents us from becoming monsters is one word. It starts with L. I love you guys! And here at the Manila Regional Trial Court, where Branch 46 has just convicted Maria Reza over cyber libel charges, sentenced to up to six years of imprisonment. We are meant to be a cautionary tale. We are meant to make you afraid. Right? So, I appeal again. Don't be afraid. Because if you don't use your rights, you will lose them. Yeah. If I fall, I stand up. Break these walls, I rise up. Even when I lose it all, I always got my eyes up. They're preying on my downfall, but I'll never give up. A thousand cuts won't be enough to keep my fists in these cuffs. And I'm never breaking down when the odds against me. Blind girl, gold crown with the gun. I was a flower that bloomed in the dark room. Flows like monsoons from the womb. And I write mood runes and resume. I grew to last soon. Prayed too many moons and my wounds would not bloom. Are we from death? We hum with these tunes and hope it's. Like a night in mid-June, my heart's consumed by hate here It's harder when you live fear, how can you see clear when you don't see you in the mirror? Uh, I lost too many peers, they seem to disappear But they livin'through these words that I'm paintin'here So tell me you remember me I'm here to build a legacy. I got the ground moving under me. A thousand cuts ain't never stopping me. And I swear I'm never giving up. Who I am and why I'm standing up. And I never need no ounce of luck. To understand myself cause that's enough Yeah that's enough I can live a thousand cuts I can live a thousand cuts I can live a thousand cuts I can live a thousand cuts I can live a thousand cuts The level life is covering up And I swear I'm never Giving up, who I am, where I'm standing up And I never need no ounce of luck To understand myself, cause that's enough Yeah, that's enough I can live without the cuts I can live without the cuts I can live without the cuts I can live without the cuts Then live a life just covering up I can live without the cuts Fall, I stand up, break these walls, I rise up Even when I lose it all, I always got my eyes up They prayin'on my downfall, but I'll never give up A thousand cuts won't be enough to keep my fists in these cuffs For more on this and other Frontline programs, visit our website at pbs.org slash frontline. To order A Thousand Cuts on DVD, visit ShopPBS or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS. This program is also available on Amazon Prime Video.

It's gonna be bloody. Behold the count. Charges against Ressa were aimed at intimidating those who challenged the territory's rule.

This is not the Philippines I knew, and I have done no crime. If you don't use your rights, you will lose them. Now on Frontline, a thousand cuts.

Morning! You want to be somewhere within reaching distance? Because I will come to you for propaganda.

Yeah. Pia, you're my first strike. What will you ask then?

I'm assuming I'm going to ask you what it was like to get banned from the palace. Yes. Rambo, you, of course, numbers, drug war, what's changed, right? Because it's on two fronts, right? You have the people think that's the main accomplishment, so what did they really accomplish?

Okay, we're making it sound. Yes. Okay. Hello and welcome. I'm Maria Ressa.

We are at the 2018 State of the Nation Address. Use the hashtag Sona2018. The Rappler team is there.

Rodrigo Roa Duterte, President of the Republic of the Philippines. Let me begin by putting it bluntly. The illegal drugs war will not be sidelined. Instead, it will be as relentless and chilling, if you will, as of the day it began.

Your concern is human rights. Mine is human life. Wow! Since you are a fake news outlet and your articles are ripe with inventors pregnant with falsity, tell me where is our lies and I'll tell you where are yours. Okay.

Fantastic! It's like, let me focus you first on what's happening in the entire information ecosystem. It's dark and light. Let me use that now, right?

They're trying to actively form alternative news. And they've succeeded. Trending News Portal was a really good distribution. Mocha is a really good distribution.

That's why all of a sudden our society is so polarized because that's what they're doing. This group just amplifies, pounds, but they never share. share any of the traditional news sites.

And then the traditional news sites are so blind that they don't even see they're getting killed here, right? This is fascinating. It's a snapshot of our information ecosystem today.

I never planned to be in politics. When I supported then Mayor Duterte, it was... it was voluntary.

To reach the Moca Usan blog, 50 million people. The previous vlog contributed a lot to the campaign for President Duterte. President Duterte will be in Marawi tonight. I entered the government helping with the information dissemination of different government agencies for social media.

For a dancer like me, for an entertainer like me, to be appointed in Malacanang, that's really something big. Hello, ladies and gentlemen of DDS. We're live here in our office. I'm in the social media office. Let's show them what we're going to give.

I just found my car. And this is what we're going to give away. Just hold it.

And last but not the least, this is a collector's item. This is a coffee table book. Duterte's Journey to the Presidency. A book about how a social media president and a president of an ordinary Filipino. 1,164 shares.

How many views? It reached 233,860. I take this as a God-given mission to become President Duterte's right-hand man in his fight against drugs, criminality, and corruption. He's the first chief implementer of the government's war on drugs. After his retirement, he was chosen to clean up the Corrections Bureau, also plagued with a legal drug problem.

Hey everyone! You're still using it? Your teeth are going to fall off! Hey you! You too!

You're done! Hey! You're still using it! You used this soap too much!

F***! Hey! Your teeth are going to fall off! Your jaw is going to fall off! Hey!

Oh my! You're out of your teeth! You're out of your gums!

That's the soap! You're the one who's out of your gums! Okay, go ahead! Keep your soap there!

Keep it there! And let's see how far we can go! I'll help you!

Do you have any hope to change the way you use and sell sebo? But I don't care about you. I have a way to stop you. Trust me. I have my own way of stopping you from doing it.

In your illegal acts, trust me, believe you me, I can stop you. So, that's a gentleman's word. Yes, sir.

That's a gentleness agreement, okay? Yes, sir. A gentleness agreement. Watch out if you hear anything. There should be no Sputnik involved in the drugs, okay?

Yes, sir. That's a gentleman's word, okay? Yes, sir. That's not a bribe.

Yes, sir. Make sure of it. Okay, thank you very much. Yes, sir.

We're sitting now with Davao Mayor Rudy Duterte. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for your time.

Can you please? You are the man of the hour. People wanted to know whether you're running for president, vice president.

Yes, no. Where are you? I told you to avoid me.

I'm telling the Filipino people, huag ako, it's going to be bloody. So no qualms about killing killers? Yes, of course. I must admit that I have killed. Three months early on, I killed about three people.

The level of poverty on the ground is phenomenal. They've had other presidents and other governments, and their lives have not gotten better. But the government is not for the people. Duterte comes in, he offers not just change, he offers revenge. Whoever did this to you, I will stop it.

If you didn't kill me now, Four months from now, I will really be a Lillitso. Rodrigo Duterte and Alan Peter Cayetano campaign in Kayenta, one of the most vote-rich towns in Rizal. I've covered Duterte for a long time. I covered Duterte when he was still a mayor, who everybody thought was just a wild card. What's your favorite breakfast?

Usually salted fish and eggs. Sun is set up. He had a reputation of being an iron-fisted mayor.

He had a lot of nicknames. Like people were calling him Duterte Harry or the Dirty Harry of Mindanao. Sir, because you're a journalist, now you're exempted from assassination. He may have been a politician, but he was an outsider politician, like a small-time politician. So his messaging was being...

someone cut out from political elite circles in Manila. I'm an outsider and I'm here to change everything. Moco Girl! Moco Girl! A little shout out for Moco Girl!

Moco Girl! You ain't a bop! President, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si, si It took three hours. The first body was found a few blocks away from where it's from. Please, sir.

How long this time? A year. Actually, that's what I'm going to start off with, and I'll just say that a year ago, this is what we talked then, and you've done everything you've said.

In the hindsight, did you really believe that? I had a good chance of making it. All of our surveys showed it.

We had a... I'll show you all the statistics. Yeah.

We knew by February. Wait, what standard did you get? Social media.

They're powerful. By February, we knew. In 2016, Rappler fought two levels of impunity.

The first was the drug war. War on drugs became a war on the poor. We had one team that would go out every night.

They would come home with at least eight dead bodies a night. The narrative of the government is that they fought back. These are extrajudicial killings or murder.

If we're doing something wrong, you can't criticize us, my hybrids. We're the ones who are wrong. If we're wrong, we're wrong. But I hope, I hope, you know, deep inside your heart.

You know you're competing with the world reps. Thank you, sir. Impunity in the drug war was a continuing series. We put faces and names to the people being killed. We demanded the government be held accountable. Anyone on Facebook who questioned the people who were being killed was automatically bashed.

We began to gather data. We began to look at the accounts attacking all of media. We stumbled onto something.

Disinformation networks. When you see the network that spreads it, you can follow other networks, and then you can see its growth. Mid-September, I started writing. First, the weaponization of the internet.

The second piece was how Facebook algorithms impact democracy. As soon as we released it, we got pounded. I was getting an average of 90 hate...

messages per hour. Moca Uson blog, she attacked Rappler, said, oh, Rappler's CIA. Followed by another blogger, thinking Pinoy, who seeded the ideas that were foreign-controlled. Rappler is misrepresenting itself in an essence.

It's like, what is this? It's foreign-based. This Rappler. Right? They're not really...

Filipino-owned company. It was the second State of the Nation address. It comes out of President Duterte's mouth. Rappler, try to pierce the identity and you will end up American ownership. You are supposed to be 100% Filipino.

Of course, we were covering it live. I automatically tweeted, Mr. President, you're wrong. I was told later on that offended him.

What do you do when the president lies? Then it's repeated a million times. So people have no idea what the truth is. This set the stage.

A week after the president did that, we got our first subpoena. January 2018, the government tried to close Rappler, tried to revoke our license to operate. In a little more than a year, we faced 11 cases. Okay, sir. Sir, earlier in your speech, you said that the issue on the SEC ruling against Rappler is not an issue of press freedom.

But at the same time, during your speech, you were giving comments about the media and about Rappler and Inquirer that we're overreacting. So what does that mean, sir? You say that this is not an attack on media, but you also have attacks on media in your own speech.

Let me give you an example. Don't get too excited. Your inquisitive mind goes beyond its normal proportions. One of these days I'll file a plunder case.

If I file a plunder case, you will go to jail without the bail. Because the end goal is to actually make you doubt the facts. O-CAT!

O-CAT! O-CAT! Congressman, how do you find that? If it was on Facebook, it was an honest mistake.

Good morning, we are joined today by former Philippine National Police Chief Ronald Bataw de la Rosa, who is now the Bureau of Corrections Chief. As soon as you file your COC, you will be deemed resigned. Yes, that would be important.

What made you decide to actually run for Senator? I don't know what I want to do. At the same time, the construction of the building, I don't want to be a government. I want to be a government.

But other people also see it as the way of the president to put loyal lieutenants in the Senate. That's why supposedly he wants you there and also Bong Goin, who is really loyal to the president to protect his interests, not just his agenda of governance. Yes, I will be killed when I become president.

Anybody would like to bring down the president? I'm right in front of you. If you come closer, I'll kill you.

I don't have an idea. I told you before that I'm on social media. I'm a believer in what I believe. That's why I'm on live streaming. Hello, DDS fans.

We're here. Wait, what's my name? Your boss is already talking to us. No need for that. A prominent critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested.

Maria Ressa is CEO of......for a cyber-liable case was served past 5 p.m. inside Rappler's office in Basque City. Press freedom advocates say the government's charges against her are retaliation for... reporting of authorities in the Philippines.

The RTC branch reported six warrants of arrest for violating anti-cyber crime law. We'll go to the NBI now. We'll go to the NBI.

Can you guys come? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thanks for your comment. We just need to finish the process. Excuse us.

I'm running the clock because I have to sleep. What do they think they can do by keeping me over here? Guys, can you go to the MDI team? Why are they not helping me? We have until 9 o'clock to be able to post bail.

Without the right documents, we cannot post. so that stumbling blocks to prevent in tonight's period. They're putting the delays on purpose.

Free Maria Ressa! Free Maria Ressa! Free Maria Ressa!

Free Maria Ressa! Free Maria Ressa! My stay last night at the NBI really made me think about what this is all about, right? And for me, it's about two things.

Abuse of power and weaponization of the law. This isn't just about me, and it's not just about Rappler. I'll be very transparent, because I have done nothing.

Sorry. This case, the cyber libel case, the National Bureau of Investigation's own lawyers threw it out. But they reversed their position, and the Department of Justice and the government prosecutors now are taking this.

The story which supposedly violated the cyber libel laws, published seven years ago, four months before the actual law we supposedly violated had even been enacted. They're applying a law retroactively, right? International journalist organizations are saying this is an attack on the media.

Blaming the administration for it. Versus Mario Seng. Your policy on critical media. I don't want to talk about it.

You are the critical media. Thank you. Thank you.

It means nothing to me. When the war on drugs started, a lot of people were dying. The government wasn't quick enough to show how many people were dying, how many people were gunned down in police operations, how many people were gunned down by vigilante-style killers.

So there's this counting with the government. 4,500 gunned down within police operations. Human rights advocates estimate the killings to be around 20,000, including the killings which were at least inspired by the war on drugs of President Duterte.

Tonight we are following a team of policemen conducting a simultaneous anti-crime and law enforcement operations to seize people who are violating city ordinances following the order of President Rodrigo Duterte to go after Tambays. We will see how they execute the order of the president. You can have an interview here, I'll just go down. Ricky, are you guys drug cleared?

Are you guys drug cleared here? No, not yet. How long have you been here?

I was just going around. I thought you were going to the pub. I mean, is the barangay already declared as drug cleared?

Yes, they know that we are clean here. Congratulations, sir. They really care.

And with the help of the sir, he's really clean. Sir Big. If he's not here, we wouldn't be able to clean like this. It's nice to have a city.

Are you guys having a coffee? No, I'm not. Marangga?

Yes. Oh, okay. Ang importante po is a woman who stands without fear, without threat to her life, that she is willing to run alongside giants and along honorable men.

36, this is the woman, I-9. I'm here to see the Lord. I-9, how are you? You look beautiful this morning.

You look beautiful this morning. It's a trial for our country. It's a trial for our democracy. There needs to be genuine opposition. The excuse that people say is like, we're tired, we want results.

We want people who really fight drugs. We want people to look... at safe streets.

I understand that, of course, everyone wants that. But you cannot kill the young. You cannot kill youth.

You cannot kill a man for the sake of, you know, like cleaning up the streets. You cannot be judged and executioner at one time. I want to share with you, this is my advocacy in the fight against illegal drugs. I hope you will try our war, our war against illegal drugs.

That's all. Do you want to hear my song? What I'd do without your smart mouth Throwing me in and you kicking me out Got my head spinning, no kidding I can't pin you down What's going on in that beautiful mind I'm on your magical mystery My personal advocacy, my fight against illegal drugs, I hope you will support me. There is no next president because our president is strong now.

So our children are sorry. Don't let it happen again. I love you, Daddy Patong! I love you, Patong!

We were in a place called Cessna. It was a murder. So one body on the ground, sprawled. His eyes were open, he was dead.

And we were shooting. Everyone was shooting and the brother showed up. And they were screaming. Because he was dead. And...

We were all crowded and I remember someone from Playboy magazine asking someone to translate. So I said, f*** you. I didn't mean f*** you to the guy, but the brothers really were saying f*** you. And I remember that. I don't know why I remember that.

But two seconds after that, I could hear a wailing from the other side of the alley. And I'm not sure they were words. The mother had discovered her son was dead. And in the narrowest alley that I had ever seen, there was a woman who was crawling along the wall of the shanties, hanging on to grills, trying to pull herself to her son, because her legs wouldn't work.

She was trembling, and she was screaming. And... On top of all the screaming, there were journalists who were also screaming. Is your son an addict? How do you feel?

What's his name? What's your name? All of that. It was one of my first days. And I didn't know what to do.

I didn't know if I was supposed to step in, if I was supposed to... I didn't know what I was supposed to do. So I just recorded. And then the mother, who was still screaming, heard the question.

and being Filipino answered them at a wail. No, my son is good. No, he's a good boy. He's a good boy. He's a good boy.

I can't forget the scream. The story was called Execution at Cessna. Isn't President Duterte the President?

Shouldn't we submit to his authority? We respect the government, we respect the President. Maria Reza said...

It seems like they're saying that most of the people in the Mokauson Vlogs are paying trolls, fake accounts, or bots. We are being accused of being a propaganda. I'm laughing here.

Pro-Duterte propaganda. Wow! Propaganda na pala ngayon ng maging makabayan. Troll na pala ang pagiging patriotic. Hi guys, so we're now here at Rappler office.

Ayan po. prove to miss resa that you know we are not trolls that we are here to express our outreach and fight for our country yes they are destroying our country and we're not going to sit here and let them do it so and this is what we're going to say to miss resa and to the people at raffler Tell your boss she has no business destroying your economy. She's American. You take your orders from an American.

How can you live with yourselves? This one, this is wild. Because that account posted and then it was amplified by, what's his name, by MOGA. Everything can be turned upside down.

Shh, I just let Facebook know. Just this morning, they said come to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Yeah, yeah, for a physical protest at our office. The worst thing of course is the government amplified their call. Well, we don't even know whether we can trust the police to protect us.

Our security will now be ramped up one to six times. I also am going to deal with that. And I want you guys to be very aware of your surroundings. We've always been like that anyway. And please report immediately if there is anything that you see that is strange, right?

They wanted to come to prove they weren't trolls, but then their very action is actually proving they're trolls. And then that is what incited all the comments. So that's the liability that we think they have.

Because those threats would never have happened if they never did the Facebook Live outside our office. Umm, speaking the devil's advocate position, they will argue that they're just exercising their right to free speech and they don't have any hold over their BBS supporters. But they have hold over their timeline. They could have deleted it, they could have... told their people, hey, that's not good, you shouldn't say things like that, or hey, that's illegal.

The fact that they didn't, and in fact even encouraged it, Facebook took it down because this is inciting to hate and inciting to violence. That's the policy they violated. We'd like to continue with our live Facebook.

You know who's this for, right? Who is it for? Maria, Maria. Mike. Mike, alright.

Losers. Are you a troll? Not a troll. You look like a cheat troll though.

Bitch. Yeah, tell her, tell her. We are the Devil Slayer, people.

Okay, we will continue later. And that... Is any of it being shared?

Where's Mocha? Mocha wasn't there. Okay. But she amplified the call to...

Go here? Yeah. With the timing of it, why now?

Hmm, oh I know that. Election! If you look at it, Moka has already earned 1 million, right? 5 million, you see? So, he can do it.

Yes, as long as he can convert everything, right? He can do it, right? When I dropped out from med school, my parents were really hurt. They said I wasn't the professional entertainer.

My father was also a thug for a long time. Then one night, he called me on the phone. We talked. Then when I was about to go to sleep, he texted me.

He said, I love you, son, no matter what. So I was surprised. There was a closure. Finally he has accepted the path that I chose.

So I went to bed very happy. The next day, we got a call. He's dead.

Shot six times. He was assassinated. Two people riding in tandem.

Because he was a judge and he was handing a... Mayoral electoral protest. So it was political.

President Duterte said it right. There are criminals pretending to be politicians. That's what killed my father. Violence, and you say this, you know, violence is okay.

Violence is a strength. Is it necessary to lead? There is a need because there's a war. And with that kind of problem in my hands now, I tell you, Maria, until I see the last forces out of the state, until the last Ragnar is killed.

This campaign will continue to the very last day of my term. Is it important that people be afraid of you? Yes. But Mr. President, as president, you now also defend the Constitution. Yes.

And so again, this is a contradiction from our last interview. You break the law, you threaten to break the law, you said you had killed it a year ago, right? You told me that.

And yet, you now have the task of keeping the rule of law. And you said you would do that also. How do you? Because the rule of law, there must be fear. Thank you for having me.

We are so honored to be here. It's about time. No. I mean, and thank you for the statement. I saw you got trolled.

Right away. You got trolled there. And we had a bomb threat yesterday, so that's a good sign. At a time when our basic rights are constantly being threatened, human lives are being disregarded, and our freedoms are under attack, Maria Reza's resilience has become revolutionary. In our moments of doubt, allow us to draw strength and courage from you.

My arrest doesn't hurt me because it only makes me more resolute because I see firsthand how the law is bent to the point that it is broken. What we're seeing is death by a thousand cuts of our democracy. And it is done...

Then think about the bleeding, right? Little cuts, little cuts to the body politic, to the body of Philippine democracy. And when you have enough of these cuts, you are so weakened.

That you will die. We at Rappler, I've said this, it's been a year now since I've said this, we will not duck, we will not hide, we will hold the line. Join us. I am not talking about food, medicine, infrastructure, but about the lives of thousands of Filipino youth who are afraid of the law.

I am not talking about the lives of thousands of Filipino youth who are afraid of the law. I am a man who is a man of my word. I am a man of my word. If you want me to say something, you have to let my wife go.

She is a womanizer. If you want me to go, I am far away from... from... from this womanizer.

Now, you're here. Okay, you're done. I can now go back to my home.

The problem is, I can't go back. I've been here for months. I'm going to sing a song, and I'm going to sing a song. Are you ready?

But there are many youths who were killed without a trace. The youths were killed, not the rioters. The rioters came from the roots of men and even the authorities.

You're a child, you didn't stop the race! What kind of government is that? The trolls, they hate me because I attacked the president. It's the president, he's talking about his penis.

I mean... Isn't that something to be like mindful about? It's like appalling.

It's appalling to have this kind of language. So we cannot have this six-year presidency or administration hijack all the values that we fought for, that we cherish. We cannot.

What do you know about the Bongos interview? Sir, as far as we're concerned, we've already addressed the issue of fairness on that article. Can you just answer, please, the question? We don't understand the question.

Because you look at your articles, you can't do anything about your fellow human beings every day. Just because you have the power of what? Press freedom?

You are a Filipino who has allowed to abuse our country. And you are an active participant of that. That is the difficult part.

In the name of the Holy Grail of Press Freedom. Your boss, what is his case? You are idiots. Your reporters, they will be allowed to criticize us.

but you go to jail for your crime. So, what are your instructions? That you are not allowed to do this.

Only me? Yes, ma'am. Just a PR and a raveler?

Yes, ma'am. Hi, Dico. Yes, ma'am.

Duterte banned me from Malacanang because he was annoyed by our reporting. It hurts. That's really been demoralizing. I mean, I'm a reporter. I want access.

So why should you care about what happens in the Philippines, right? For one, we spend the most time on the internet, more than 10 hours a day. We spend the most time on social media globally. And as we found out, lies... laced with anger and hate, spread fastest.

When you only look at content, it's a whack-a-mole game. I want to figure out what the lie is, then look at the network that spreads the lies. That's the nervous system. We started looking at one account that was attacking.

All journalists are corrupt. one account that had 25 followers. They were all following each other. We fact-checked every single item.

These were all fake accounts. We began to count and found that 26 fake accounts can influence up to 3 million other accounts. Three million. I think the first attacks, this word prostitutes, you can even track this word.

Mocha Uson starts to popularize prostitutes. I think he'd be annoyed. picks it up, then it's repeated a million times to make you distrust institutions, to shift the way you think. In May 2017, we did a story on the transcript of Trump's call with President Duterte. Rappler just made the Philippines a legitimate target of North Korean nuclear missiles.

It's laughable, but people believe it. It jumped to I can smell an arrest and possible closure of Rappler.com. Then from there we go to sexualized attacks, fuel misogyny. Women are a favorite easy target.

Hashtag arrest Maria Ressa. It didn't trend. And that's probably why it took them another two years to actually arrest me.

That was the end goal. Party's now in session. We took the 15th, 13th, and 11th standings in the U.S.

Army. Maria Ann will be interested in that work in court. Let's go.

Atras, atras. We don't have a way. We don't have a way. Atras, atras.

We don't have a way. I know many of you received press releases that this is a private citizen. Please understand that it is the Department of Justice that is...

is actually going against us. This is the Philippine government. It's the Philippine government that is filing this.

The Department of Justice prosecutors are there. This is your tax pesos at work. Thank you.

For AA Casocio, ang boses ng ordinaryong Pilipino. Are you ready? Let's all welcome Mocha Puzo. Good afternoon to all of us.

Good afternoon. I'm just going to greet the people who are having fun and are enjoying our company. Good afternoon, ma'am.

I think we're getting late. I'm here on the right. Can I hear you?

Hip hip! Hip hip! Hip hip! Ayan, dito naman po sa gitna.

Pwede ba kayo rin po? Hip hip! Hip hip!

Hip hip! Hip hip! Ayun o, parang nakikilala ko sa kapitan.

Lagi nanonood ng Mocha Girls ito ah. Maraming ba bang sumusuporta kay Pangulong Duterte? Duterte!

Ayan ba, pwede bang tatlong beses isigaw po nating Duterte? Duterte! Duterte!

Duterte! I really messed up because I didn't have a message. I have my message but I wasn't able to focus on the message.

I was just there to entertain! So I've learned my lesson. Okay, you guys keep eating. I'm taking you out, Dad.

I think we should just try to find a weekend and do a beach. Miss the beach. Hold on, let me look at my calendar.

There's a Human Rights Awards thing. And then FCC. And then I go to New York.

And then I'm in New York until the 24th. And I come home on the 25th, Saturday night, though, at like 11 at night. We could do, oh no. I can't because after Saturday night, then I have Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday in Manila. Then I leave at like 1130 at night on Thursday for Glasgow.

This is impossible. Unless we do Sunday, Monday. We could do Sunday, Monday.

Sunday the 26th to 27th. Then. And I'm in Geneva on the 3rd.

My happy to be leaving. It's just a non-stop marathon. I'm upset one court put a half a million peso bond on top. Now I'm almost up at three million pesos that the government has asked for, for me to be free. Because if I didn't do that, I'd lose my constitutional right to travel.

Welcome to Cebu, welcome to our hearts. Welcome to our streets and to my history. Mayor Inday Sara Duterte!

The next president is Mayor Sara Duterte. Mayor, in the PCIJ report, your wealth has increased by six times from 2007 to 2017, and they're asking for an explanation. I don't have an obligation to explain to PCIJ about... The income of our spouse It won't end there if I answer the PCIJ Then I will answer the others Maria Ressa, executive editor and CEO of Rapport, with Matt Thompson, the editor-in-chief of the Center for Investigative Reporting.

Good morning. I can tell you that countless editors across the country are asking the question, what would Maria Ressa do? That's scary. You've gotten to see a democracy slide into...

increasing authoritarian present. What lessons do you have from that experience, from witnessing that, that we should be really attentive to sitting here in Washington, D.C.? I think first is what happens happens in America, happens to the rest of the world. I mean, in order to solve this, you have to act.

And I'll tell you two reasons, right? Just earlier this month, I spent time with the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower, Christopher Wiley. The whistleblower said they tested the tactics of how to manipulate you in our countries and in other countries in the global south. And the reason why he said that was because we don't have strong government. They can get away with impunity.

And then if it worked in our countries, then they would, his word was, port it over to you. So the first step is, I think we have to realize that something horrific has already happened. And that we are at this existential moment where if nothing significant is done, journalism is only the first part.

Journalism and democracy. as we know it, is dead. We're in your dystopian future. I think the last part I forgot to say is that data is plutonium, right? We go back to nuclear war.

That's the only thing. This was where we went to elementary school, in. And Walnut Street. I never really knew where home was. My parents were both Filipinos.

My real father died when I was a year old. My mom went to the States, so I guess like an overseas Filipino worker. My stepfather, my dad, now, they came back and got us.

My family left when I was 10. My primary language is Tagalog. So when I landed in New Jersey, I had to learn how to speak English. You try to leave behind being brown. You try to... to understand what you're walking into.

And the best way I could deal with that was you work really, really hard, 150%. It's proving that I belong. You have to prove you deserve it.

What can you say, right? What can you say? Where are we going? We'll go.

Well, I think we'll go and post mail. Well, I would like to post mail. A prominent Philippines journalist, Maria Reza, has been arrested on fraud charges. Last month, Ms. Reza, the executive editor of a news website, Rappler, was arrested over an alleged internet libel case. Prosecutors filed the latest charges against her while Reza was on a trip in the U.S.

Media watchdogs say the charges against Reza were aimed at intimidating those who challenged Duterte's rule and his war on drugs. The plaintiff is undergoing the case. And after this, what would you say? So there are two charges.

One for anti-dummy, one for securities and regulation code. So this warrant is for the anti-dummy issued yesterday. Yeah, this is on me.

Take it on your side. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. The seventh time I posted bail, the second time I've been arrested, it's obviously clear I am not a travel risk, right? Because I came home even after the new charges were laid out and the arrest warrant was issued.

This is not the Philippines I knew. This is not the Philippines. I voluntarily chose as my home country.

And it's shocking that after a 14-hour flight, you're, you know, and I have done no crime. I'm certainly not a flight risk that I'm greeted by police who will take me there. Jump, jump. Going in the back, going in the back.

Did I say too much? Oh my god! Oh, oh, grab it.

Joseph, don't we have to be extra careful now? The People Power Revolt happened. Not a shot was fired and a government was changed. As a kid just coming out of school and feeling the exuberance of that, I wanted to come back to the Philippines. This country was actively creating what the future was going to look like.

We were building institutions. I felt 20 years later, the Philippines was going to be an amazing country. I worked at CNN. I ran the Manila Bureau for almost a decade.

And in 1995, I opened the Jakarta Bureau. I was there until 2005. We had covered every single country in Southeast Asia as they transitioned from authoritarian one-man rule to democracy. That was incredible. I decided I would make the Philippines my home. I love you.

I'm a man, I'm a man, I'm a man I'm a man, I'm a man, I'm a man I'm a man, I'm a man, I'm a man You would expect a government to use subtle means to stifle dissent. You do not expect a government to outright say, I am banning you, and then start implementing. You're actually standing in the line of fire, as what we call it. We always say that the line of fire is a place of honor.

And that's what you're doing right now for your profession, especially under these circumstances. This is not one of those simple cases. If I have a problem...

Already finding lawyers to take it on, then you know how different your case is. They want you to hide. So this is actually the reverse of what they want.

They want to be able to say, this is only about Pia, this brat who keeps on pestering the president with hard questions. They can't see that now because apparently it's not just about Pia. I don't know anything about that.

We are journalists. Physical presence in a newsworthy event is integral to our work. Asking officials questions face-to-face is integral to our work. Malacanang's ban prevents us from doing our jobs.

Press freedom, free speech, due process, and equal protection are guaranteed by the Constitution. We're asking the Supreme Court to affirm these fundamental rights. I'm going to show you what Rappler did in Manila.

In the Philippines, there's no such thing as investigative journalism. It's just money. I'll show you what they did in the quarter.

That's why I'm saying that there's a life for it. Rappler and other people, they're just writers. They only have salary for writing?

They don't have a life. They sent a client to attack. ACDC.

They are attacking. You don't want to see your mother's children being imputed? This is just insane.

The palace is now coming out with a press release saying that confirming their Aus Duterte coup plot. I mean, how could you even? Who briefed you about the Matrix? I can tell you, just listen to my conversation.

So the President told you how it... He didn't say it. He said he would send him a matrix.

I said, what is that? Mr. President? He said, it's an Austrian plot against me.

You asked him how it works? Tina, I just said, how can I make a video like this? Tell them that it's from me, Ms. Gwen. They can ask me.

Three hours to go to the three companies. So there's no authority to explain to us? from the intelligence community, from cyber division of NBI? No. A mere piece of paper?

Do you want us to believe? Our God is the President, so believe. In the ruffler, who are those people? That's it. It was named there.

And in the PCI chain? The National Union of People's Lawyer. They're laying the groundwork for a non-bailable charge.

It's like, it's fantasy. Oh, I'm going to show you the gap. Maria, come here. I'll show you. Can you see it?

So this is a nice material. I'm not gonna wear that. Maria, try it first!

I'm not gonna wear that. It's a gown, my gosh! Come on! No, no, no!

Look! Oh my god, it's gonna be so beautiful! No, number one, number two, it's also long.

It's okay, you can pick it up. Let me see what you're wearing. Let me see what you got.

There's not enough time to have it fixed anyway. You don't get it fixed. That's the thing. They just flow.

What? Seriously, let me see what you got. I think you should try it on. You think you should try it on?

I think you should try it on. I'll trip on it. Maria, when you...

When you have it on, and you're walking, you lift it. And then you trip on it. And then, no, when you lift it, then you can walk with your loafers up wherever you're going. I know. Yes.

No, look. Maria, why don't you try first? You don't even know. It's so beautiful. You have a great shape for it.

You can wear it. No, I'm not. This is a small... And besides, I'll be cold.

I'll be cold because I want a jacket. It's 75 degrees tomorrow. It's not 75 degrees. Yes, it is. Does it show snack?

Because let me see what you're wearing then I guess we have to go to rent the runway now. I Told you I brought two I've seen I know you've seen this, but I haven't worn it since, like, a long time ago, a decade ago. It works!

Do you even want to see, or do you care? I don't want... Because the shoe makes the outfit. These shoes are okay. Check this out.

No. Mary Jane, I can't wear heels. You can wear heels. You can wear heels.

That would be, like, awesome. Look at it. No, thanks.

That way, when you wear your dress, uh... Watch. That's why this is shorter.

This is like a flat. No, no, no, no, I don't wear things like that. Maria, this will be so nice.

I've never worn things like that. You know I've never worn things like that. Go out of the box.

No thanks. You're 50s now. No thanks.

We're no longer safe. She and I were born in the Philippines, but we made different choices, starting with the place we call home. For Mary Jane, home is here, in New York.

I chose my home in Manila, the Philippines. For better or worse, I hope I'm not going to... It's ironic that even though our choices are different, our two nations now have the same type of leaders. Macho, populist, sexist at best, misogynistic at worst.

They both... Use anger and fear to divide and conquer. They've created a politics of hate. We need to put hope and love, but I'm going to sound so schmaltzy. It's not with hate, but with hope and love.

We hold the line. Is that too much? No.

Is it corny? Maria, it has to be yours. It's you.

You're corny then. Check my face. Let's go.

Let's go. What did you say? Check my face? I said, shut up in your face. We stupidly believe goodness wins over evil.

May the force be with you. Are you going to say that? Are you really going to say that?

Oh my God. What an incredible room full of people. I mean the energy from the Mother of Dragons to Nancy Pelosi.

It is the... I don't know what to do with it. I mean, it's a completely chaotic time where technology has helped make facts disputable, eroded truth, and crippled trust.

It's incredibly easy for governments to get away with this kind of behavior. That's why they're using trials, because it gives them a way to silence dissent and yet have a veil of legitimacy. You know, one of the things that I take away from today, having heard people who were behind bars.

speak out is you know apathy is the enemy and we need people to be angry and to care and if you go to trialwatch.org you will see a get involved button and that doesn't mean send money it actually means tell us about trials that you're worried about it means volunteer to be a monitor so please help us make this a success Yeah, I would also say just my takeaway from today, we had all these panels and we were with President Nasheed who spent time in jail for telling the truth and Mohamed Fahmy who also spent time in jail for telling the truth and Jason Raziel, you know, spent time in jail for telling the truth. in jail for telling the truth uh um maria is uh where is she oh there maria is uh is going back to the philippines she's been been arrested twice in the last five weeks. The rest of you are out.

Maria is about to risk going back and she's going back because she believes that shining a light on crime, shining a light in general is the best. The most important thing is she won't be afraid. I'm afraid for her. And all of us here are so proud of your ability to shine a light.

And we're all going to do everything we can to make sure it stays loud for you. Thank you again. And reach out anytime. I'll do it through David, is that alright?

Yes, no, he should give you my very free manager. Oh, yeah, sure. Let me... How about on here?

Can you write it on there? Yes, thank you. I'll write it. I'll write you and I'll answer the questions you ask. And look, whichever way is most helpful to you.

Yeah. Thank you. Thanks so much.

Too many things happening. Have you heard about this? This happened this week. So the palace released a matrix of coup plotters. And it includes my organization as well as other independent news groups.

And me. And now the Philippine National... Police say they will investigate the journalists on that list.

Do I have more support outside than inside the Philippines? I think we have a lot of support in the Philippines. But I think anyone who stands up has a lot to lose.

Our country needs the mission of journalism even more today than at any other time. It's a big irony on my part to be a religious person and at the same time waging the war on drugs that resulted to deaths of thousands. The anti-government forces, you can never satisfy them.

Everything that the government does is wrong for them. So I don't care about them. I care about the ordinary people who have been suffering from this. So these ordinary people say, sir, it's okay, thank you for what you're doing. Our streets now are safer, our communities are a lot safer.

We can just let our children walk, go to the school, we're not being molested by the drug personalities, by the drug addicts, by the drug abusers. What I saw out in the streets never really escaped me, it never really left me. I still remember vividly how...

bodies are left in the streets and how families are traumatized and the trauma of the family isn't just theirs they also it also took to some extent gets passed on to me and i remember how how they feel the feeling of losing someone so brutally it affected me and sometimes it also appears in my dreams I'm terrified daily because I'm so close to the ground. The concern isn't getting hit from above, it's getting hit from below. It's not that the president will name me, but that Astoria I did wrong. or a person I shouldn't have named would die because of what I did. And half of me is the journalist who wants the story.

And the other half is, I do not want to be party to anything like this. It sort of leaks into every part of your life, the paranoia. Sorry.

Si Maria Sessa. I thought she doesn't scare easily. I do.

I can't not go back. I mean that sounds really... uh...

It's easy to say, but I actually did think about this. There's... I have to return.

And part of it is also, regardless of what happens, then, you know, chronicling what does happen, right? Thank you. Thank you. That's good. No.

None. We're okay. We're good.

That's where they picked up before. Ladies and gentlemen, let us welcome Ms. Pia Raniera. It's quite challenging to be a journalist now. We feel like we're criminals for being journalists. Okay, next.

But we're fighting it. Other Rappler reporters and I went to the Supreme Court and we filed a petition asking... the Supreme Court to lift the ban.

This is our first offensive against the government. Because previously we've always just been at the receiving end of these legal cases. And I'm just so proud of my company that despite all of our attacks, all of the legal cases against us, they still...

Sorry. They still muster the resources and the willpower to file a case on our behalf. And you know, you don't have a boss like that every day.

It takes a certain kind of boss to stand up against a greater power when they're already themselves. On the receiving end of so many attacks. So thank you Maria and the rest of Rappler for standing up for us.

And you know, we're just praying. Thank you. I said to the President, Do not do drugs.

Because I will kill you. I still have three years. I will kill you all.

Look at this. It's not an easy job. That's the President. You have content with this son of a bitch. And with the bitch in media.

My question is, the victims are the 27,000 victims of LGK, the marginalized Filipinos, the drug runners, and of course the media. But how about the rest of us? Do we feel victims? I myself, I don't feel victim. In fact, my retirement pay went up.

In fact, we feel safe. What are you going to do about making us feel also victims? We don't buy drugs.

I'll quote to you one of the most famous Holocaust poems of all time. First, they came for the socialists and I did not speak out because I was... not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me."This was a poem by Martin Niemöller and the Inquirer pushed it down to one sentence for today. First they came for the journalists. We don't know what happened after that. Transcriber's Name Reviewer's Name I have been appointed as counsel for another award-winning journalist, Maria Ressa. Ms. Ressa was one of four journalists named as Time magazine's Person of the Year for what Time called, quote, great risks in pursuit of greater truth. The government's response has been to arrest her and initiate a series of civil and criminal cases that expose her to a maximum sentence of 63 years in prison. Colleen was asking if we've had to make adjustments based on what's happening with you and your safety. And are we safe? She actually asked, you know, are you guys safe? And I think that your friends didn't even realize how... How dangerous it is for you. We'll have a relative. A relative. And funny that you say it that way because I did tell her you dismiss. I'm not dismissing it, it's just done. We've dealt with it, we know what can happen and I'm okay with it. And... Well even that resignation, you know that... You know, like, I know you don't want to worry mom and dad, or the siblings, or... Because no one else really needs to know, right? That your life is a danger? All we need to know is just we're doing our work. That's... It's not that it's anyone's. Anyone's is, right? We're not different from anyone else, except a little bit more. This year, when at the trial watch, Jason Rezaian, who was like in prison for 500 something days, and then Mohammed Fahmy was in Egypt, and he was in prison for 340 years. eight days and so that was like the first time where I really had to figure out okay I have it um am I okay with this if this happens can I deal with it and took me a little bit but I can deal with it and so we keep going and I forgot this bummer shocks can I forget it it's a very real possibility your actions what I do will determine how real it is I mean intent is always there and I think part of what will make us give us a better defense is if we're not afraid because the first factor is to make you afraid and you shouldn't be afraid And if I'm not afraid, I'll be a much better... I'll actually prepare better for the worst case if I'm not afraid. And the only way to not be afraid is to understand the worst case scenario and embrace it. You mean you're prepared to go to jail? Are you prepared to... No, the point is that... You know, I don't want to see you becoming a martyr in all of this. This is a stupid conversation. I don't like this. I think you're talking about reality. No, but I've already done this. I've dealt with it already. Not with me. I know. But you don't need... You need to deal with it and you shouldn't deal with it. Well, that's not fair. No. Why are you crying? Because I'm scared for you. Yeah, but you shouldn't. I'll... We're okay. We're ready. Okay! General Bato, Dela Rosa, where are we on the war on drugs? Can you give us your assessment? We are still far from our dreams of a drug-free Philippines. We are still far, but if you compare... But according to previous administrations, the problem is getting bigger. The problem on drugs has worsened. After many deaths, after the death theory, the problem of drugs is even bigger now. Your war on drugs has failed. A reminder to the audience, please behave. Please show respect to all the candidates. Thank you very much. The big problem is, they're shooting at small and small pushers. They're shooting at poor people. Where are the drug lords? That's my question. General Bato has a question. If you wage the war on drugs, you cannot be selective in implementation of justice. If you say war on drugs, that's a lie. Everyone should be hit. Okay. So, very calmly, let us... Okay. How can I calm down? They are all eight, not one. Because where are we now if President Duterte did not launch the eight drugs? Maybe all of our children are now zombies walking on the streets, who are already being killed. Or who are becoming... Silence. Silence of the public means there is an overstretch of too much power by our executive, the president. We are in the last few days and I asked Jodez how she was doing. Do you know what she said? Here, she has to tell you. I said, Jodez, how are you? I'm enjoying the last days of democracy. What am I going to answer there? Right? I am enjoying the last days of democracy. Alright. We still think there is hope. Do we not? Yes. Look. Smile. Promise. It could be surprising. We have 61.8 million registered voters. They are going to the polls for 12 hours to choose more than 18,000 elected positions. Right up top, 12 members of the Senate, 12 senators are going in. Number 83. Rosa has actually voted. This is Pia's photo of him voting. There's also this, I don't know, fragmented opposition because ultra-direction, right? Right, right. In Davao, the Duterte children set the sweep local elections. That doesn't seem like too much of a surprise, right? Vote Baye! as well as obstruction of justice. These are questions that we are going to ask the Knesset. He is set to consolidate his power. You know, that's why the Senate race is so important, because then we'll see if we can actually balance what the president is doing. The Senate is a last standing independent body in terms of voting for what President Duterte wants. Hey guys, I have a hearing tomorrow. Ah, arraignment pala. And the headline, opposition bets fail to get in the Magic 12. The day is president, the institution has morphed, the man hasn't changed, the legislature, the executive, the judiciary, the checks and balances, well they're bending to the man, so there we go. 2019 was a difficult year, right? I never had any doubts that Rappler had my back. And I hope you guys all know, I think our nation has our back. You can't fight monsters by becoming monsters. I'm quoting Bono. And what prevents us from becoming monsters is one word. It starts with L. I love you guys! And here at the Manila Regional Trial Court, where Branch 46 has just convicted Maria Reza over cyber libel charges, sentenced to up to six years of imprisonment. We are meant to be a cautionary tale. We are meant to make you afraid. Right? So, I appeal again. Don't be afraid. Because if you don't use your rights, you will lose them. Yeah. If I fall, I stand up. Break these walls, I rise up. Even when I lose it all, I always got my eyes up. They're preying on my downfall, but I'll never give up. A thousand cuts won't be enough to keep my fists in these cuffs. And I'm never breaking down when the odds against me. Blind girl, gold crown with the gun. I was a flower that bloomed in the dark room. Flows like monsoons from the womb. And I write mood runes and resume. I grew to last soon. Prayed too many moons and my wounds would not bloom. Are we from death? We hum with these tunes and hope it's. Like a night in mid-June, my heart's consumed by hate here It's harder when you live fear, how can you see clear when you don't see you in the mirror? Uh, I lost too many peers, they seem to disappear But they livin'through these words that I'm paintin'here So tell me you remember me I'm here to build a legacy. I got the ground moving under me. A thousand cuts ain't never stopping me. And I swear I'm never giving up. Who I am and why I'm standing up. And I never need no ounce of luck. To understand myself cause that's enough Yeah that's enough I can live a thousand cuts I can live a thousand cuts I can live a thousand cuts I can live a thousand cuts I can live a thousand cuts The level life is covering up And I swear I'm never Giving up, who I am, where I'm standing up And I never need no ounce of luck To understand myself, cause that's enough Yeah, that's enough I can live without the cuts I can live without the cuts I can live without the cuts I can live without the cuts Then live a life just covering up I can live without the cuts Fall, I stand up, break these walls, I rise up Even when I lose it all, I always got my eyes up They prayin'on my downfall, but I'll never give up A thousand cuts won't be enough to keep my fists in these cuffs For more on this and other Frontline programs, visit our website at pbs.org slash frontline. To order A Thousand Cuts on DVD, visit ShopPBS or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS. This program is also available on Amazon Prime Video.

Transcript for:Maria Ressa and Press Freedom Challenges

Transcript for:
Maria Ressa and Press Freedom Challenges