Latest news with #Anti-DummyLaw
GMA Network
19-06-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Pasig RTC junks Anti-Dummy Law case vs. Maria Ressa, other Rappler execs
"In this case, this Court finds that the prosecution's evidence is grossly insufficient to establish the criminal liability of al of the accused by proof beyond reasonable doubt," the court said. The Pasig Regional Trial Court has dismissed the violation of the Anti-Dummy Law charges against Nobel Peace laureate Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa and five other officers of the news website. In an 11-page order, Pasig City Judge Marie Joyce Manongsong granted the demurrers to evidence Ressa and the other executives –Nico Jose Nolledo, Glenda M. Gloria, Manuel I. Ayala, Felicia Atienza, and James Velasquez. "In this case, this Court finds that the prosecution's evidence is grossly insufficient to establish the criminal liability of al of the accused by proof beyond reasonable doubt," the court said. In the information filed before the Pasig RTC, the prosecution accused Ressa and the others of allowing Omidyar Network Fund, a foreign corporation, to intervene in Rappler operations by issuing Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDR) to the investment firm in 2015. The anti-dummy case is related to a Securities and Exchange Commission order revoking Rappler's incorporation papers on allegations it violated a constitutional restriction on foreign ownership of mass media by issuing PDRs to Omidyar. The court said that the 2018 SEC decision itself did not establish the individual roles of each of the accused in the transfer of PDRs to Omidyar. "From the foregoing, it is apparent that the SEC assumed that each of the accused had a role ni the supposed illegal scheme based on their corporate positions ni Rappler and RHCI. It found such fact sufficient for the imposition of administrative sanctions on the corporations involved," the court said. "Nonetheless, ni the instant criminal case against each of the accused, the prosecution simply adopted the SEC findings in the administrative case and failed ot provide evidentiary support ot the supposed specific acts of each of the accused that led to the issuance of the PDRs to Omidyar," it added. The court said there was no proof of the alleged negotiations between Ressa, as representative of Rappler and RHCI, and Omidyar. It added that the 2018 SEC decision itself showed that not all the accused are directors of RHCI. Atienza and Velasquez, for example, were shown to be directors of Rappler only. "Likewise, the prosecution failed to submit any board resolution, corporate record or any other piece of evidence clearly establishing the involvement of each of the accused in the issuance of PDRs to Omidyar," the court said. –NB, GMA Integrated News
The Star
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Philippines' dismissed mayor Alice Guo charged with 62 counts of money laundering
Alice Guo. - Photo: House of Representatives file MANILA: The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed 62 counts of money laundering cases against dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo. Guo, who is currently detained at the Pasig City Jail, is charged with 26 counts of violating Section 4(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) for conducting transactions involving monetary instruments or property derived from unlawful activity. She also faces five counts of violation of Section 4(b) of the same law for converting, transferring, acquiring, or using such instruments or property. Alice, together with her parents Jian Zhong Guo and Lin Wenyi and siblings Shiela and Seimen, and 26 others who are officials of companies involved in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo) operations, are facing a case for violating section 4 (d) of the same law for conspiring to commit money laundering offenses. Based on the 48-page resolution issued by the DOJ panel of prosecutors early this year, the proceeds from the Pogo activities inside Baofu compound owned by Guo's real estate company were transferred to other legitimate businesses of the Guo family. Baofu had been the subject of three search warrants due to illegal activities being conducted by Hongsheng, a Pogo operator, such as online gambling, internet fraud, and other cybercrime operations. Following a raid conducted in 2023, authorities arrested over 300 foreign nationals, mostly Chinese citizens. Another raid was conducted on March 13, 2024, against Zun Yuan, which took over Baofu operations after Hongsheng due to its alleged involvement in labour trafficking, cryptocurrency scams, love scams, and investment fraud. Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon confirmed that the case filed on Friday (May 23) before the Capas court was from the resolution released last January. 'Because the number of information (charge sheets) that had to be prepared and its attachments, it took a while to file,' he said. The money laundering case marks the eighth case filed against Guo, who is already facing charges of qualified trafficking in persons, civil forfeiture, graft, material misrepresentation, and falsification of public documents. Four additional cases are under preliminary investigation by the DOJ, covering alleged falsification by a notary public, perjury, and obstruction of justice, violations of the Anti-Dummy Law involving Pangasinan properties (two cases), qualified trafficking, and graft involving personnel of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
