The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has recommended to the Supreme Court (SC) the acquittal of Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Rappler executive Maria Ressa and her former reporter Reynaldo Santos Jr.

Ressa and Santos were convicted in 2020 of cyber libel by a Manila court. The case stemmed from the 2012 article on a sports utility vehicle that was lent to the late Chief Justice Renato Corona by Wilfredo Keng, who, Rappler said, was involved in illegal activities based on intelligence reports by the National Security Council.

In a statement on Tuesday, March 10, the OSG said its recommendation to the SC was contained in a manifestation and motion filed last Monday, March 9.

The OSG said its recommendation to Ressa and Santos “is grounded in law and duty.”

It said: “As the People’s Tribune, the OSG’s mandate in criminal proceedings is not confined to seeking convictions. It includes assisting the courts in arriving at a just and legally correct disposition, grounded on the Constitution, statutes, and controlling jurisprudence even, and especially when, the law requires acquittal.”

It assured the government’s respect for the independence of the judiciary and stressed it “will abide by the Supreme Court’s final disposition of the case.”

Keng filed a complaint initially before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in 2017 before it was forwarded to the Department of Justice (DOJ) which filed a case in court in 2019.

In its manifestation and motion, the OSG said that cyber libel prescribes in one year consistent with Articles 90 and 91 of the Revised Penal Code.

It cited a case decided by the SC in 2024 which “shortened the prescription for cyber libel offenses to one year.”

“Prescription is the legal time limit within which a criminal information must be filed. Once that period lapses, the State can no longer prosecute. The rule promotes diligence in prosecution and protects individuals from the inequity of defending against stale charges and the threat of perpetual prosecution,” it said.