NEW YORK, New York (The Adobo Chronicles, New York Bureau) – Rappler CEO and convict Maria Ressa is seeking asylum in the United States under the guise of a teaching job at New York’s Columbia University.

Facing possible jail time should the Philippine Supreme Court junk her appeal to overturn her conviction by a lower court of the crime of cyber libel, the Nobel Laureate chose to seek protective shelter in a U.S. academic institution.

Being a U.S. and Philippine dual citizen, Ressa does not really need to seek political asylum in America, but she chose to be under the protective custody of Columbia to escape jail time in the Philippines.

Ressa is set to join Columbia as a professor in the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).

The announcement made by Columbia last June 28 said Maria Ressa will at first be lecturing as a distinguished fellow at the Institute of Global Politics (IGP) in Fall 2023 and will begin teaching at SIPA in July 2024.

The Adobo Chronicles reached out to the staff of Rappler who all declined to comment on what their future holds if Ressa eventually shuts down the online news portal.