What is Cyberlibel?

Author: Atty. Angeli Andan

Q: What is Cyberlibel?

A: 

In 2022, data shows that more than 3,000 cyber libel have been filed since the effectivity of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 or R.A. No. 10175. But the question is, what constitutes cyberlibel?

Under Sec. 4(c)(4) of R.A. No. 10175, the following are the elements of Cyberlibel:

1. the allegation of a discreditable act or condition concerning another; 
2. publication of the charge; 
3. identity of the person defamed; and 
4. existence of malice

First, the Supreme Court in Brillante v. Court of Appeals held that an allegation made by a person against another is considered defamatory if it ascribes to the latter the commission of a crime; the possession of a vice or defect, whether real or imaginary; or any act, omission, condition, status or circumstance which tends to dishonor or discredit or put him in contempt, or which tends to blacken the memory of one who is dead. 

It is well-settled in jurisprudence that to determine whether a statement is defamatory, the words used must be construed in their entirety and taken in their plain, natural, and ordinary meaning as they would naturally be understood by the readers. Unless it appears that the words were used and understood in a different sense, this is the standard by which they should be judged.

Second, publication in libel means making the defamatory matter, after it has been written, known to someone other than the person to whom it has been written. This is because a communication of the defamatory matter to the person defamed cannot injure his reputation though it may wound his self-esteem. 

Third, it is ruled in MBPC and Batuigas vs. Domingo and People that in libel cases, it must be shown that at least a third person or a stranger was able to identify him as the object of the defamatory statement. As held in Lastimosa vs. People, there are three ways to establish the identity of the person defamed when he or she was not explicitly mentioned in the writing:

1. Identification through Intrinsic Reference – The words used in the defamatory statement must make it clear who the person being defamed is;
2. Identification through description — The identity of the person can be discerned by piecing together descriptions and the facts and circumstances surrounding the character; and
3. Identification through extrinsic evidence — whereby extraneous pieces of evidence are presented to prove the link between the character and the person defamed, such as when a third person would testify that when he or she read the writing, he or she knew that it was referring to the person defamed because of his or her own knowledge of the characteristics and circumstances surrounding the person defamed and/or the latter’s relationship with the writer.

Fourth and lastly, there is “actual malice” or malice in fact when the offender makes the defamatory statement with the knowledge that it is false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not. Article 354 of the Revised Penal Code states that every defamatory imputation is presumed to be malicious, even if it be true, if no good intention and justifiable motive for making it is shown.

These four (4) requisites must be proven beyond reasonable doubt before one can be held liable for cyberlibel. Need to know more about this special law? Contact us today at info@baisandanlaw.com. You can also reach us via cellphone number at 0915 968 2503 or at our telephone number (045) 281 0164.