
MANILLA - Philippine Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa was acquitted of tax evasion, among a slew of charges she has long maintained are politically motivated, calling the verdict a victory for "truth".
Ressa, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov in 2021, still faces three other cases, including a cyber libel conviction now under appeal that could mean nearly seven years in prison.
"Today, facts win. Truth wins," a teary-eyed and defiant Ressa told reporters outside the Manila courtroom after the ruling on four government charges that she and her online media company Rappler had dodged taxes in a 2015 bond sale to foreign investors.
It was her first court acquittal since former president Rodrigo Duterte's government began filing charges against her. Ressa had earlier termed the cases "politically motivated" and "a brazen abuse of power".
The tax court said prosecutors failed to prove "beyond reasonable doubt" that Ressa and Rappler had evaded income taxes.

In a separate interview with AFP following her acquittal, Ressa said the verdict was a "victory for journalists" in the Philippines and around the world.
"If you stand up to power, yes you get beaten up (for) four years and two months. But right will win," Ressa said.
"I think this is hope for anyone who has been unjustly accused."
The 59-year-old has been battling a series of cases that media advocates say were filed due to her vocal criticism of Duterte and his drug war, which claimed thousands of lives.
Ressa and Muratov were awarded the Nobel for their efforts to "safeguard freedom of expression".
In a statement, Rappler said: "An adverse decision would have had far-reaching repercussions on both the press and the capital markets... With you we will continue to #HoldTheLine" -- a slogan used to symbolise their fight for press freedom.
Despite the ruling, Ressa still faces the threat of prison from the cyber libel case, while the future of Rappler, which she founded in 2012, remains uncertain.