Tax appeals court junks petition on Ressa case

By Rey E. Requejo

THE Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has junked the appeal of the government seeking to overturn its acquittal of Nobel

Laureate Maria Ressa and Rappler Holdings Corporation (RHC) of tax evasion charges on the P162.5 million earned by the news outfit from the 2015 issuance of shares to two foreign entities.

In a resolution dated May 18, the CTA denied the motion filed by government lawyers on Feb. 2, 2023, to reconsider the judgment of acquittal handed down by the appellate tax court on Jan. 18, 2023.

“This Court adheres to the finalityof-acquittal doctrine that prescribes that a judgment of acquittal can no longer be reconsidered because it violates the Constitutional provision against double jeopardy,” the CTA said, in a resolution written by Associate Justice