Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ART.353
ELEMENTS:
1. That there must be an imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or
circumstance;
2. That the imputation must be made publicly;
3. That it must be malicious;
4. That the imputation must be directed at a natural or juridical person, or one who is dead;
5. That the imputation must tend to cause the dishonor, discredit or contempt of the person defamed.
Libel is a public and malicious imputation of a crime, or a vice or defect, real or imaginary or any act, commission, condition, status
or circumstances tending to cause the dishonor,
discredit or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead.
Kinds of malice:
(a) malice in law that which should be proved, or
(b) malice in fact that which may be taken for granted due to the grossness of the imputation.
No distinction between calumny, insult, and libel: all kinds of attack against honor and reputation is punished
Person libeled must be identified. But the publication need not refer by name to the libeled party. If not named it must be shown that
the description of the person referred to in the defamatory publication was sufficiently clear so that at least a 3rd person would have
identified the offended party.
It is essential that the victim be identifiable, although it is not necessary that he be named.
Defamatory remarks directed at a group of persons are not actionable unless the statements are all embracing or sufficiently specific
for each victim to be identifiable.
To presume publication, there must be a reasonable probability that the alleged libelous matter was thereby exposed to be read or
seen by 3rd persons.
In libel, the false accusation need not be made under oath. Perjury requires that the false accusation is made under oath
2. Words are construed not only as to the expression used but also with respect to the whole scope and apparent object of the writer.
(People vs. Encarnacion)
There is no crime if the defamatory imputation is not published, meaning, it is not communicated to a third person.
In order that a discreditable imputation to a public official may be actionable, it must either be:
- A false allegation of fact; OR
- A comment based on a false supposition.
Borjal v. CA (1999)
For a statement to be considered malicious, it must be shown that it was written or published with the knowledge that they are false
OR in reckless disregard of WON they were false
RECKLESS DISREGARD the defendant entertains serious doubt as to the truth of the publication, OR that he possesses a high
degree of awareness of their probable falsity
To avoid self-censorship that would necessarily accompany strict liability for erroneous statements, rules governing liability for injury
to reputation are required to allow an adequate margin of error by protecting some inaccuracies.
ART.358
If the utterances were made publicly and were heard by many people and the accused at the same time pointed his finger at the
complainant, oral defamation is committed.
Slander By Deed
ART.359
ELEMENTS:
1. That the offender performs any act not included in any other crime against honor;
2. That such act is performed in the presence of other person or persons; and
3. That such act casts dishonor, discredit or contempt upon the offended party.
Seriousness of slander by deed depends on the social standing of offended party, the circumstances surrounding the act, the
occasion
Distinctions:
1. Unjust vexation - irritation or annoyance; anything that annoys or irritates without justification.
2. Slander by deed - irritation or annoyance + attendant publicity and dishonor or contempt.
3. Acts of lasciviousness - irritation or annoyance + any of the 3 circumstance provided in Art. 335 on rape (i.e. use of force or
intimidation; deprivation of reason or rendering the offended unconscious; or if offended party was under 12 years old, together with
lewd designs)