Maria Angelita Ressa is a Filipino and American journalist. She is the co-founder and CEO of Rappler. She previously spent nearly two decades working as a lead investigative reporter in Southeast Asia for CNN. She will become Professor of Professional Practice in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University on July 1,2024,and has been a Distinguished Fellow at Columbia's new Institute of Global Politics since fall of 2023.
Antonio Tirol Carpio is a former associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He was sworn in as a member of the Supreme Court by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on October 26,2001,and served until his retirement on October 26,2019. He served as associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines for a period of eighteen years. He also served as chief justice in an acting capacity several times during his tenure as Senior Associate Justice.
Marvic Mario Victor Famorca Leonen is the Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines since May 14,2022 upon the retirement of Senior Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe. He became an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on November 21,2012 –the second youngest jurist to hold the said position and the youngest after Manuel V. Moran in 1938. Prior to his stint in the country's highest court,he served as chief peace negotiator of the Republic of the Philippines in peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Leonen has been called,"The Great Dissenter" of the Supreme Court,often standing close to liberal and human rights-oriented decisions against the conservative bench close to Rodrigo Duterte and related dictatorial beliefs.
Lucas “Luke”Purugganan Bersamin is a Filipino lawyer and jurist who currently serves as the 40th Executive Secretary of the Philippines. Bersamin previously served in the Supreme Court of the Philippines for 10 years,first as an associate justice from 2009 to 2018 and then as the 25th Chief Justice of the Philippines from 2018 until his retirement in 2019. He was named by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to the high court as an associate justice on April 2,2009. Prior to becoming an associate justice,he was a member of the Court of Appeals.
Jose Manuel Tadeo "Chel" Icasiano Diokno is a Filipino lawyer,educator,human rights advocate,and broadcaster. He serves as chairman of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG),the founding dean of the De La Salle University College of Law,and the chairman of the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation. He has served as a special counsel of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. He was a candidate for the Senate in 2019 and 2022. He also co-hosts radio programs such as Oras at Bayan on Veritas 846 and Rekta:Agenda ng Masa on DZRH and DZRH News Television.
The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012,officially recorded as Republic Act No. 10175,is a law in the Philippines that was approved by President Benigno Aquino III on September 12,2012. It aims to address legal issues concerning online interactions and the Internet in the Philippines. Among the cybercrime offenses included in the bill are cybersquatting,cybersex,child pornography,identity theft,illegal access to data and libel.
Rappler is a Filipino online news website based in Pasig,Metro Manila,the Philippines. It was founded by 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa along with a group of fellow Filipino journalists as well as technopreneurs. It started as a Facebook page named MovePH in August 2011 and evolved into a website on January 1,2012.
The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) is a nationwide organization of human rights lawyers in the Philippines. It was founded in 1974 by Sen. Jose W. Diokno,Lorenzo Tañada,J.B.L. Reyes,and Joker Arroyo during the martial law era under former President Ferdinand Marcos. It is the first and largest group of human rights lawyers established in the nation. They work on countering varied abuses against human rights and civil liberties. Its current chairman since 2003 is human rights attorney Chel Diokno,the founding dean of the De La Salle University Tañada-Diokno School of Law.
Samuel Reyes Martires is a Filipino lawyer serving as the Ombudsman of the Philippines since 2018. He was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 2017 to 2018.
Proclamation No. 216 was the 2017 proclamation of martial law and suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the whole of Mindanao amid clashes between government forces and Maute group terrorists in Marawi,issued by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on May 23,2017. The state of martial law was extended thrice by Congress at the request of Duterte,citing necessity to quell hostile activities perpetrated by terrorist groups,and ended with the third extension lapsing on December 31,2019.
The quo warranto petition against Maria Lourdes Sereno,filed before the Supreme Court of the Philippines,led to the landmark case Republic v. Sereno,which nullified Maria Lourdes Sereno's appointment as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines,finding that she never lawfully held the office due to a lack of integrity for failing to file certain required financial documents. As a result,she was ousted from the Supreme Court as Chief Justice. The Court handed down its ruling on May 11,2018. The case began with a filing before the House of Representatives of an impeachment demand,the accusations in which Solicitor General Jose Calida used as the factual basis for his quo warranto petition.
Tranquil Gervacio S. Salvador III is a Filipino lawyer,educator,and civic leader. He has served as spokesperson and member of the defense panel for the impeachment of the then-Chief Justice Renato Corona and handled other notable cases of Filipino personalities and corporations.
Mario Villamor Lopez is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to replace Francis Jardeleza.
Edgardo "Edgar" Lao Delos Santos is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to replace Justice Antonio Carpio.
Nilo Divina is a Filipino lawyer,professor,author,and educational administrator. He is the founding and managing partner of Divina Law,a law firm in the Philippines based in Makati. He is a former President of the Philippine Association of Law Schools.
Disini v. Secretary of Justice,727 Phil. 28 (2014),is a landmark ruling of the Supreme Court of the Philippines handed down on February 18,2014. When the Congress of the Philippines passed the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 the bill was immediately controversial,especially its strict penalties for the new crime of "cyberlibel",an upgraded form of the already existing criminal libel charge found in the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines.
People of the Philippines v. Santos,Ressa and Rappler (R-MNL-19-01141-CR),also known as the Maria Ressa cyberlibel case,is a high-profile criminal case in the Philippines,lodged against Maria Ressa,co-owner and CEO of Rappler Inc.. Accused of cyberlibel,Ressa was found guilty by a Manila Regional Trial Court on June 15,2020.
Japar Babay Dimaampao is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He is the second Muslim to be appointed to the High Court after Justice Abdulwahid Bidin.
Antonio Tongio Kho Jr. is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to replace Justice Rosmari Carandang.
Lorenzo "Larry" Gacilo Gadon is a Filipino politician and disbarred lawyer who currently serves as the Presidential Adviser for Poverty Alleviation for President Bongbong Marcos since 2023. Gadon ran for a senatorial seat in 2016,2019 and 2022 election,all of which were unsuccessful. Gadon has gained notoriety for his use of vulgar language and his hardline stance against perceived liberals and communists. Since 2019,he is one of the co-hosts of Karambola on DWIZ-AM.
