ONLINE news website Rappler has welcomed the ruling of the First Division of the Philippine Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) that acquitted its chief executive officer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa on tax evasion charges.

'We thank the court for this just decision and for recognizing that the fraudulent, false, and flimsy charges made by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) do not have any basis in fact,' the statement on Wednesday read. 'An adverse decision would have had far-reaching repercussions on both the press and the capital markets.'