MANILA — Nobel Peace Prize winner and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa said Thursday the cyber libel conviction of Baguio-based journalist Frank Cimatu was a freedom of speech issue.

"This is not a freedom of the press issue. This is his personal thought, opinion on his Facebook page. So this isn't a journalistic piece of work," Ressa told ANC's "Headstart."

"He didn't write a report... This is freedom of expression more than it is freedom of the press."

Ressa, who is facing at least 7 criminal charges including cyber libel, said what happened to Cimatu "sends a very difficult signal for the Philippines, that you have to be careful what you say."

"It's a push against freedom of expression," she added.

Former Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol, who lodged the cyber libel complaint against Cimatu, earlier said that his legal victory should be considered a "lesson" that "press freedom isn't absolute."

• Journalist Frank Cimatu convicted of cyber libel over FB post vs ex-agri chief
• Piñol on cyber libel case win: 'Press freedom isn't absolute'

Cimatu was convicted by a Quezon City court over his 2017 Facebook post, which read: "Agri Sec got rich by 21 M in 6 months. Bird flu pa more."

The court said the post was defamatory because it imputed a crime, making it appear that Piñol committed was involved in corruption.

Piñol was secretary of agriculture from 2016 to 2019. He was able to prove in court that his personal net worth increased during the 7 years that he was out of government service — from 2009 to 2016.

In a decision dated Dec. 12, Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 93 Acting Presiding Judge Evangeline Cabochan-Santos sentenced Cimatu to up to 5 years, 5 months, and 11 days in prison and ordered him to pay Piñol P300,000 in moral damages.

The decision can still be appealed.

"If we're going to begin to set trends like this then our courts have to be prepared to deal with everything else," Ressa said.

• Maria Ressa loses appeal of cyber libel conviction

Ressa is back in the Philippines after a series of overseas engagements to launch her book "How to Stand Up to a Dictator."

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