Philstar.com deletes 2002 article on Wilfredo Keng‬

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‪Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 16) — Two days after Rappler CEO Maria Ressa posted bail for a cyber libel case filed against her by controversial businessman Wilfredo Keng, another news website deleted a story involving him for fear of a lawsuit.

‪In a statement, Philstar.com said that it had removed  the article posted in 2002. ‬

‪"In light of recent events, we removed the Aug. 12, 2002 The STAR article titled "Influential businessman eyed in ex-councilor's slay" from our platform. This was after the camp of Mr. Wilfredo Keng raised the possibility of legal action," Philstar.com said. ‬

‪It added that while the article is nearly 17 years old, recent events have cast doubt on the scopes and bounds of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. ‬

‪"At this time, it is not clear if any live digital element on the article could be used against us," it said. ‬

‪Philstar.com is the online arm of the STAR Group of Publications. It publishes content from The Philippine STAR broadsheet, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Freeman, Banat, and People Asia magazine. ‬

‪Keng's name resurfaced into public consciousness after agents of the National Bureau of Investigation arrested Ressa on February 13 because of the libel case he filed against her over a year ago.

‪Keng filed the case in October 2017 based on an article published on Rappler titled "CJ using SUVs of 'controversial' businessmen" on May 29, 2012.

‪The libel suit cited the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which became law four months after the contested article was published. ‬

‪Ressa was arrested because the article was updated and published again on February 19, 2014. She is currently out on bail. ‬