The criminal sanction for Philippine libel laws is “excessive” and is in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which the Philippines is a signatory.

Libel complaints were recently filed against journalists and media company executives. For a journalists’ group, these validate the previous calls to decriminalize libel.

The GMA chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) stressed that libel laws silence journalism. “[C]riminalizing speech only undermines the public’s fundamental right to know,” the chapter said in a statement.

Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte filed libel and cyberlibel complaints against GMA executives and broadcast journalists which stemmed from the network’s report about alleged cash deliveries to the Dutertes claimed by dismissed police officer Rodulfo Gracioso Jr.

Duterte filed the complaint before the Davao City Prosecutor’s Office on October 23, more than two weeks after his sister, Vice President Sara Duterte, made a joke about filing a multimillion-peso libel case against GMA Network. Her remarks happened during a press conference on October 6 while reading her affidavit which answers Gracioso’s claims.

Among the respondents were GMA executives Felipe Gozon and Gilberto Duavit, as well as journalists Mel Tiangco, Vicki Morales, Emil Sumangil, Darlene Cay, Marvin Parado, Joel San Luis, and other unidentified individuals.

In a statement released on October 23, the TV network said that they have not yet received the complaints. 

Gracioso and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Melvin Matibag were also named as respondents.

Meanwhile, veteran journalist Philip Lustre Jr. was arrested on October 24 over a cyberlibel complaint reportedly filed by Mans Carpio, Sara’s husband. He was unaware of the complaint, according to his legal counsel. He was released on bail on the same day.

NUJP has been campaigning for the decriminalization of libel, echoing the views of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee that the criminal sanction for Philippine libel laws is “excessive” and is in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which the Philippines is a signatory.

Right(s) Up: Why journalists and advocates push for decriminalization of libel

On September 18, NUJP released its policy review on libel laws, stating that the high court has already identified the problem of these laws but reform requires legislation. The review, to name a few, cited Justice Marvic Leonen’s opinion in Disini, Jr. v. Secretary of Justice which stated that libel was unconstitutional as penal sanctions impose “an invidious chilling effect.” 

It added that removing jail time alone, as proposed by some legislators, is not decriminalization because of limitations of a fine-only regime, saying that if the accused cannot pay, subsidiary imprisonment may follow.

The review cited the data obtained from the Office of Cybercrime of the Department of Justice (DOJ), indicating that 3,770 cyberlibel cases had been filed, as of May 2022, since the enactment of the Cybercrime Prevention Act. More than 2,500 cases remained pending in courts and before the prosecution level. There were already 12 convictions.

In the 2023 study by NUJP, 61.5% of the libel cases against 50 journalists from 2021 to 2023 were filed by politicians.

ML Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said that filing a libel suit against journalists and media workers for doing their job sends a “chilling message” to other members of the press. Parties being accused can just respond to the allegations, she wrote in a Facebook post.

Under the Journalist’s Code of Ethics approved by media groups, journalists shall recognize the duty to air the other side and the duty to correct substantive errors promptly.

“Contrary to allegations of malice or unverified reporting, the report went through standard, multi-layered editorial and legal verification procedures,” the NUJP GMA Chapter said. “The team conducted due diligence—verifying information through official sources, law enforcement documents, and background checks—and obtained proper clearance from network leadership and legal counsel before airing the story.”

In the subject report, the reporter, Cay, and anchor Tiangco mentioned that they were trying to get the comments of the people implicated by Gracioso, including the Dutertes, but they did not receive a response when the report was aired last month.

Prior to the complaints filed against GMA executives and news personalities and Lustre, NUJP documented 16 incidents involving filing libel and cyberlibel against the media under the Marcos Jr. administration. (DAA)