OSG asks SC to acquit Ressa, Santos

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has asked the Supreme Court to set aside the rulings issued by the Regional Trial Court in Manila and the Court of Appeals which found Rappler executive Maria Ressa and former Rappler reporter Reynaldo Santos guilty of cyber libel.

- By Joel R. San Juan X @jrsanjuan1573

In a statement, the OSG, headed by Solicitor General Darlene Berberabe, said it has invoked its role as the “People’s Tribune” in recommending the acquittal of Ressa and Santos.

The OSG made the recommendation in a manifestation and motion filed with the Court on March 9.

It may be recalled that on June 15, 2020, the RTC in Manila issued a decision convicting Ressa and Santos in the cyber libel case filed by businessman Wilfredo Keng and were meted out with a jail term from a minimum of six months and one day to a maximum of six years, eight months and 20 days.

The CA affirmed the trial court’s ruling, saying that Ressa and Santos failed raise new arguments that would warrant the reversal of the decision.

The OSG anchored its new position in the 2023 ruling of the Court in Berteni Catalufia Causing which shortened the prescription period for cyber libel offenses to one year.