MANILA — Nobel laureate Maria Ressa has been acquitted in the last of five tax evasion cases filed against her in the Philippines, in what is being hailed as a win for press freedom.

"You got to have faith," the beaming journalist told reporters gathered outside a Manila court.

All five cases were during former president Rodrigo Duterte's term.

Ms Ressa's news website Rappler published reports criticizing his bloody war on drugs.

Her reporting in the face of growing authoritarianism in the Philippines earned Ms Ressa the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, an honor she shared with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov.

Duterte, who stepped down in June 2022, faces an investigation by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for "crimes against humanity" over thousands of deaths linked to his anti-narcotics campaign.

"This is a victory not just for Rappler but for everyone who has kept the faith that a free and responsible press empowers communities and strengthens democracy," Rappler said in a statement on Ms Ressa's acquittal last Monday.

A tax evasion conviction would have landed Ms Ressa in prison for up to 34 years. The cases stemmed from the 2015 sale of Philippine depositary receipts, which is a way for companies to raise money from foreign investors.

But Ms Ressa is still not completely off the hook. She as convicted in a cyber-libel case that carries a seven-year jail term. She is out on bail while the case is on appeal.

Rappler is also challenging a shutdown order from the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly violating a constitutional prohibition against foreign investments in local media. — BBC