According to wikipedia, Defamation—also called calumny, vilification, traducement, slander (for transitory statements), and libel (for written, broadcast, or otherwise published words)—is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, religion, or nation a negative or inferior image. This can be also any disparaging statement made by one person about another, which is communicated or published, whether true or false, depending on legal state.

If we remember the libel case of Dra. Vicky Belo versus Atty. Argee Guevarra, the first Philippine Facebook libel case  wherein the lawyer  posted “slanderous” comments on his Facebook page in 2009. She didn’t win the case. Now any slanderous comments can be a ground for libel.

With this new rule going on, a smart person can sue us for libel just by commenting on facebook or any social media. We can be sued for our opinions on topics that we do not like. We may not be able to express our feelings since we are prohibited by law. However, this also gives us the right to protect ourselves for those people who judges us. If our reputation and the public acceptance is our priority, this gives us an edge for only receiving good feedback. This only lead us to “be careful on what you post and what you like”.

♣Atty. Jose Jesus “JJ” Disini Jr., a cyber law expert said:

Under Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, libel is defined as a public and malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status or circumstance tending to discredit or cause the dishonor or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead. Thus, the elements of libel are: (a) imputation of a discreditable act or condition to another; (b) publication of the imputation; (c) identity of the person defamed; and, (d) existence of malice.  [Daez v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 47971, 31 October 1990, 191 SCRA 61, 67]

ARTICLE 3, SECTION 4 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution

³”No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.”

♦Tagalog/Filipino translation: “Hindi dapat magpatibay ng batas na nagbabawas sa kalayaan sa pananalita, pagpapahayag, o pamamahayag, o sa karapatan ng mga taong-bayan na mapayapang makapag-tipon at magpetisyon sa pamahalaan upang ilahad ang kanilang mga karaingan”.

Prohibiting someone to express his thoughts on certain issues is taking the right of a person for freedom of speech. Blogging is one medium where we the citizens of this country can freely express our voices. Many bloggers post their rantings about their political or religious views, some create articles about their love for art, fashion or travel, there are others who get paid to make reviews about restaurants, hotels or events.  Blogging is a freedom of expression. It is like keeping a diary or a journal. You vent out your emotions so you can be free and we can act normal again.

We may want to check and verify our actions by checking the blogger’s code of ethics. It says: be honest and fair, minimize harm, and be accountable. My only question now. Does the new cyber crime law prohibits us to blog and express our feelings or does it saves us?

***FYI: This post is created to make the readers be informed with the current issues in our country. This is a collaboration of thoughts from various sources. Citations are included. Filipina Wanderer is not a lawyer and is not practicing law in any forms.

Sources:

² http://www.abogadomo.com/law-professor/law-professor-archives/libel-laws-of-the-philippines