As the judge announced the outcome of the nearly five-year-old case, Ressa grinned.
The 59-year-old, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, has been fighting two cases and multiple charges that were brought against him during the time that former president Rodrigo Duterte was in office.
Ressa has long maintained that the charges against her and Rappler, the news website she co-founded in 2012, were politically motivated. She has been a vocal critic of Duterte and his deadly drug war.
After the acquittal, a visibly relieved Ressa told reporters outside the court, "You gotta have faith."
Due to the 2015 issue of Philippine depositary receipts, which allow businesses to raise funds from foreign investors, Ressa and Rappler faced five charges of tax evasion from the government.
A court vindicated them on four charges in January. The fifth was heard by an alternate court, which got her and Rappler free from bad behavior on Tuesday.
In a statement, Rappler stated, "Today, we celebrate the triumph of facts over politics."
"We thank the court for this just decision and for recognizing that the Bureau of Internal Revenue's fraudulent, false, and flimsy charges have no basis in fact," the statement reads.
Ressa and Rappler's future is uncertain as they fight two more court cases despite the acquittals.
Ressa and a previous partner Rey Santos Jr are engaging a digital slander conviction that conveys an almost seven-year prison sentence.
Rappler, on the other hand, is challenging a closure order issued by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly violating a media ownership ban.
Only citizens of the Philippines or entities controlled by citizens are permitted to invest in the media under the constitution.
That case springs from a 2015 speculation by the US-based Omidyar Organization, laid out by eBay organizer Pierre Omidyar.
Omidyar Organization later moved its Rappler venture to the site's nearby chiefs to fight off endeavors by Duterte to close it down.
Regardless of the leftover obstacles, Ressa was naturally insubordinate and hopeful on Tuesday, telling columnists the most recent quittance "reinforces our purpose to go on with the equity framework".
She stated, "It demonstrates that the court system functions, and we hope to see the remaining charges dismissed."
With Duterte's election in 2016, Ressa and Rappler's legal issues began. Duterte frequently used foul language against his opponents.
They have confronted what press opportunity advocates depict as a crushing series of criminal accusations, captures and online maltreatment.
The government of Duterte asserted that it was not involved in any of the cases against Ressa.
Another high-profile Duterte pundit, common liberties campaigner Leila de Lima, has spent over six years in prison on drug dealing charges she said were created to quietness her.
Ressa, who is also a citizen of the United States, has remained based in the Philippines throughout the campaign against her.
Ressa is required to apply for court approval whenever she wants to travel abroad while she is on bail while the appeal against her cyber libel conviction is being heard.
This included her December 2021 trip to Norway to accept her Nobel Peace Prize.
Ressa and Russian writer Dmitry Muratov were mutually granted the Nobel for their endeavors to "protect opportunity of articulation".
Prior to his election as Duterte's successor in June 2022, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos stated that the separation of powers between the executive and judicial branches of government would not permit him to intervene in Ressa's cases.