Journalist Maria Ressa arrested again at Philippine airport

Maria Ressa, a high-profile Philippine journalist and vocal critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, has been arrested once again after being detained at Manila airport Friday.

Rights groups have long alleged that Ressa and her website Rappler are being targeted by the authorities as part of a campaign to silence and intimidate Rappler, which has reported extensively on Duterte's war on drugs that has killed thousands.

The veteran reporter, named a Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2018, was taken into custody by authorities in Manila on Friday, said Rappler cofounder Beth Frondoso.

"They got her at the airport," Frondoso said. "We will be filing bail."

Ressa, who holds Philippine and American passports, later received bail.

"You cannot harass and intimidate journalists to silence. We'll stand up and fight against it," the award-winning journalist told reporters after posting bail of $1,700.

Lawsuits against news platform Rappler have drawn global concern about a free and open media in the democratic Southeast Asian country.

Rappler and its officials are now facing 11 cases, said Ressa, who posted bail for the seventh time.

She was taken into custody on a charge that she allowed her name to be used to circumvent a Philippine law against foreign ownership of media properties, a charge that stems from a 2015 investment in Rappler.

Under the constitution, the media is an economic sector that is reserved for Filipinos or Filipino-controlled entities.

"This case against Ressa ... is unprecedented and speaks volumes of the Duterte administration's determination to shut the website down for its credible and consistent reporting on the government," said Carlos Conde of Human Rights Watch.

Last month, Ressa spent a night in detention but eventually posted bail for allegedly libeling a businessman in a news article written in 2012.

Ressa's legal team said this latest case would not stop Rappler from doing its work.

"Let it be clear that these acts of harassment will not deter our clients from doing their duty as journalists," legal counsel Francis Lim said in a statement. "We believe in the rule of law."