The veteran journalist, on the front line in criticizing former President Rodrigo Duterte and his violent methods in the war on drugs, is determined to continue speaking out, even though seven legal cases are pending against her and eight against Call back.

"It's an editorial office that has been under attack for six years and we have prepared ourselves," Ressa, 58, told AFP in her office in the suburbs of Manila.

"We will not voluntarily waive our rights."

Rappler, co-founded a decade ago by Ms Ressa, had to fight for its survival under the Duterte government which accused it of tax evasion and breaking the law banning media from having foreign owners.

At the end of June, a few days before the end of Mr. Duterte's mandate, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered the closure of the website.

Then, less than two weeks later, Ms. Ressa was sentenced on appeal for defamation.

She faces up to seven years in prison.

With decades of journalistic experience in Asia, including in conflict zones, Ms. Ressa believes she must be "prepared for anything".

"It's something I do: whatever thing I'm most afraid of, I think of the worst-case scenario and then I plan," says the former CNN correspondent, who is now free on parole. bail.

His lawyers denounce "judicial harassment supported by the State".

Trouble began in 2016 for the journalist and her site, when Mr. Duterte came to power and launched a "war on drugs" in which police operations left more than 6,200 dead according to official figures.

Human rights groups estimate the death toll to be in the tens of thousands.

Like other Philippine and foreign publications, Rappler released shocking images of the operations and questioned the legal basis for the crackdown.

Local television ABS-CBN, also critical of Mr. Duterte, for its part lost its broadcasting license.

Mr. Duterte's government has assured that it is not involved in the proceedings against Ms. Ressa.

According to the reporter, online harassment escalated "exponentially" after the SEC shutdown order.

And it has continued since the coming to power of Ferdinand Marcos Jr, son of the former dictator of the same name.

The conviction "was the biggest spike, that's for sure. It hasn't stopped, it's practically non-stop," laments Ms Ressa.

“The attacks are always linked to a defense of the Marcos government”.

- "Decisive moment" -

Maria Ressa embraced the career of journalist in 1986, the same year when the dictator Ferdinand Marcos was forced by a popular revolt to leave power and the country to go into exile in the United States with his family.

His son Ferdinand Marcos Jr won the presidential election on May 9, allowing his clan to return to power, thanks to a rewriting of the past and an alliance with other powerful families.

Maria Ressa hopes that the governance of Marcos Jr will be different from that of his father, which was marked by human rights violations, corruption and the closure of independent media.

But the trend of the past three weeks, especially the attacks on social media, "does not bode well for press freedom and for Filipino journalists", fears the journalist.

"There was no magnanimity in the victory," she says.

"It's not about one or two people not being nice, it's concerted operations."

Some of his colleagues at Rappler, whose average team age is 25, were also targeted.

Ms. Ressa hoped that the Nobel Peace Prize received in 2021 with the Russian Dmitry Muratov would protect her and other Filipino journalists.

Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize winner, during an interview with AFP, on July 12, 2022, at the offices of the Rappler news site in Pasig near Manila JAM STA ROSA AFP

Even though Mr Marcos Jr has given no indication of his intentions regarding Rappler and more broadly on free speech, activists fear the situation could get worse.

For Ms. Ressa, the outcome of the lawsuits against her and Rappler could have wider implications for Filipinos and their rights.

She mentions in particular the controversial law on online defamation.

Rappler is accused of violating it for an article published several months before the text came into force in 2012.

"It's a decisive moment," said Ms. Ressa.

"What's at stake goes beyond my freedom or Rappler. It will really determine the direction this country takes."

© 2022 AFP