Political analysts slam SG Berberabe for asking SC to overturn cyber libel conviction of Ma. Ressa
Respected political analysts Alex Magno and Roberto Tiglao criticized the action taken by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), headed by Atty. Darlene Marie Berberabe, over the weekend, saying it was discourteous to the Supreme Court (SC).
Berberabe filed a “Manifestation with Recommendation for Acquittal” before the SC, seeking the acquittal of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa.
The analysts branded the Solicitor General’s move as overly generous and disrespectful to the country’s justices, as she asked them to overturn Ressa’s 2020 cyber libel conviction. The case stemmed from a suit filed against Ressa by a businessman in 2019, leading to her conviction by the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) in 2020. That RTC decision was unanimously affirmed by the Court of Appeals in July 2022.
“She is not being very polite here,” said Magno, a longtime political science faculty member of the University of the Philippines (UP), in his March 21 column in a major broadsheet, titled “Discourteous”.
Ressa was found guilty of cyber libel, sentenced to between eight months and 20 days to six years of imprisonment, and ordered to pay P400,000 to the complainant. In November 2022, Ressa and her co-accused Reynaldo Santos Jr. filed a petition with the SC to reverse the lower courts’ rulings.
Magno also argued that as Solicitor General, Berberabe should represent the government, not personal friends, noting that her action raised apparent conflict of interest concerns since she had previously served as Ressa’s lawyer. “She is expected to represent government, not personal friends, before the courts,” he added in his column.
Tiglao, meanwhile, claimed Berberabe was either ignorant of or pretended to be ignorant of the law, citing the principle: “No doctrine or principle of law laid down by the court in a decision rendered en banc or in division may be modified or reversed except by the court sitting en banc.”
“SolGen Berberabe shocked the legal community when she asked the court to acquit Ressa, claiming the one-year prescription for the crime had lapsed, pointing to an October 2023 decision by the Supreme Court,” Tiglao said in his March 23, 2026 column in a major broadsheet, titled “To save Ressa, SolGen ignores Constitution, disrespects SC”. He added that Berberabe conveniently ignored an earlier 2018 ruling in Tolentino v. People (GR 24031, Aug. 6, 2018), which stated that the prescription period for the offense is 15 years.
Other political observers echoed Magno and Tiglao’s sentiments, saying the OSG should prioritize efforts to help the country amid ongoing crises rather than focusing on seeking Ressa’s acquittal.
“There are so many things that a Solicitor General can do to help our people amid the ongoing world crisis because of the war in the Middle East. Remember she is a public official, and her duty is to defend the interest of the government and its employees, not just private individuals,” they said.
