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<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-7/robredo-2-face.webp" alt="Leni Robredo" />
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(Leni Robredo)
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There is Maria Ressa, the Filipino-American head of the online news outlet Rappler, who styles herself as a critic of the Duterte administration. She blames the President for the many cases currently pending against her in court. For Robredo, that may be enough reason to consider Ressa her political ally.
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When Ressa was found guilty of cyber libel by the Regional Trial Court of Manila last June 15, 2020, Robredo condemned the court decision as a "chilling development," a "threat to the freedom of all" and "the latest instance of law being utilized to muzzle our free press."
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Robredo added:
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"A threat to the freedom of even a single Filipino is a threat to all of our freedoms. If the law and our government institutions can be brought to bear upon Ms. Ressa, then we should be wary of what this means to the freedoms of ordinary citizens."
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How a court decision in a cyber libel case can be a "chilling development," a "threat to the freedom of all" and "the latest instance of law being utilized to muzzle our free press," Robredo failed to explain.
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Apparently because she is not into litigation, Robredo failed to consider that the cyber libel case against Ressa was initiated by a private businessman, Wilfredo Keng, and not by the President.
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It did not seem important to Robredo that Keng sued Ressa because, as the trial court observed, Rappler made false imputations against Keng, and that he sued her to make the latter accountable for the damaging story Rappler peddled against him. What seemed important was that Ressa, a perceived enemy of President Duterte, must be defended.
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Robredo appears unaware that the constitutionality of the law against cyber libel has been upheld by the Supreme Court, and that jurisprudence has consistently held that libelous materials are not entitled to any constitutional protection, and that press freedom is not absolute because the media are not allowed to unjustly destroy the reputation of private persons.
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As a lawyer, Robredo ought to know that she should not attack the trial court and accuse the judge and the justice system of muzzling press freedom. Her public statements to that effect are not only unfounded; they tend to erode public confidence in courts.
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Robredo, however, recently made a complete turnaround when she was the subject of false imputations.
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Last week, Robredo threatened to sue anybody who disseminates "fake news" after she learned about social media posts claiming she and her group distributed spoiled food at a hospital in Quezon City, and that her spokesman asked the hospital staff to keep quiet about the incident.
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In a recent television interview on the ABS-CBN News Channel covered by the print media, Robredo said in broken English and Pilipino:
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 "... In the past, I have not taken steps kasi ako, honestly, I was always for decriminalization of libel and for that matter cyber libel. Pero tingin ko, enough is enough. We will make sure we will hold these people accountable."
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She also said, likewise in broken English and Pilipino:
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"Pag fake news kasi, mahirap. Kasi most of the time, hindi mga totoong tao, most of the time mga trolls… Nagagamit ang technology para i-mask yung identity. Hindi lang ito against sa akin. Against ito sa society as a whole because they're making iyong online space a hostile environment."
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To repeat, Robredo was quick to condemn the conviction of Ressa, even if the trial court emphasized that Keng was the subject of false and embarrassing accusations by Rappler, and that Keng was prompted to sue to protect his name.
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Now that Robredo is at the receiving end of false accusations in the media, she wants to sue in court and under the same justice system she denounced.
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<strong>Sources</strong>: 
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<ol class="article-sources">
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Two faces of Leni Robredo, <a href="https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2020/07/04/two-faces-of-leni-robredo/" class="news_link" target="_blank" title="Soource">TDT Commentary</a>, July 04, 2020, The Daily Tribune
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Robredo wants to decriminalize libel for Ressa, wants to sue libel for reports of her food distribution