Libel

Someone asked me, "I have a friend who...

was bad mouthed by the teacher of her son at the faculty room when she complained about the grades of her son. The teacher shouted at her in front of other classmates of the son and called her a bad person who had many boyfriends in her younger years in school, and was even talking of how the mom as a student was always cheating from her seat mates. Can libel be filed against the teacher?"

My answer is the statements, if indeed made, would constitute oral defamation.

Art. 353 of the Revised Penal Code defined libel 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 cause the dishonor, discredit, or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead.

The elements of a crime of libel are 1) imputation of a crime or vice or defects; 2) Malice; 3) Publication 4) Person defamed is identifiable. In this case, all these are present. The imputation of a loose character and a cheater on the mom, the open declaration of such in front of other students is publication, and the direct correlation to the person defamed is immediately apparent to the audience.

Malice is a bit harder to prove. Malice is defined as motivated by personal ill-will or spite and not in response to duty but merely to injure another. And the law presumes that in the absence of a justifiable motive for these utterance, then malice must stand. There is actually no reason for the teacher to discuss the failings of the mom, even if true, when the subject matter of discussion was the grade of the son.

And libel maybe committed by means of writing or similar means, by oral statements or by actions. The different forms are punished criminally as follows:

Art. 355. Libel means by writings or similar means. — A libel committed by means of writing, printing, lithography, engraving, radio, phonograph, painting, theatrical exhibition, cinematographic exhibition, or any similar means, shall be punished by prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods or a fine ranging from 200 to 6,000 pesos, or both, in addition to the civil action which may be brought by the offended party.

Art. 358. Slander. — Oral defamation shall be punished by arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period if it is of a serious and insulting nature; otherwise the penalty shall be arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos.

Art. 359. Slander by deed. — The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period or a fine ranging from 200 to 1,000 pesos shall be imposed upon any person who shall perform any act not included and punished in this title, which shall cast dishonor, discredit or contempt upon another person. If said act is not of a serious nature, the penalty shall be arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos.

Art. 363. Incriminating innocent person. — Any person who, by any act not constituting perjury, shall directly incriminate or impute to an innocent person the commission of a crime, shall be punished by arresto menor.

Art. 364. Intriguing against honor. — The penalty of arresto menor or fine not exceeding 200 pesos shall be imposed for any intrigue which has for its principal purpose to blemish the honor or reputation of a person.

But there are also other ways to file the action. Instead of filing a criminal case, a civil case for damages arising from libel may be filed based on Art 30 and 33 of the Civil Code. In civil case, the proof of truth of the libelous allegation cannot be used as a defense. Even if the mother indeed was cheating, the teacher cannot raise it as a defense unless it can be shown that she did so with good motives and for justifiable ends.