Cyber Libel Defined

Section 4(c)(4) of R.A. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012,

which punishes the crime of cyber libel, makes reference to Article 355 of
the Revised Penal Code:

“(4) Libel. – The unlawful or prohibited acts of libel as defined in Art. 355
of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, committed through a computer
system or any other similar means which may be devised in the future.”

and punishes the same set of acts defined under the Revised Penal Code,
but outlines its commission, through “a computer system or any other
similar means which may be devised in the future”.

Proceeding from the definition of libel under Article 353 of the Revised
Penal Code, cyber 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 cause the dishonor, discredit,
or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of
one who is dead, and committed through a computer system or any other
similar means which may be devised in the future.

Elements of Cyber Libel

The following are the elements of cyber libel, based on Section 4(c)(4) of
R.A. 10175, in relation to Articles 353 and 355 of the Revised Penal Code:

a. 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.

b. The imputation must be made publicly, which requires that at least one
other person must have seen the libelous post, in addition to the author
and the person defamed or alluded to in the post.

c. The imputation must be malicious, which means that the author of the
libelous post made such post with knowledge that it was false, or with
reckless disregard as to the truth or falsity thereof. (Yunchengco vs. The
Manila Chronicle Publishing Corporation, G.R. No. 184315, 25 November
2009.)

d. The imputation must be directed at a natural or juridical person, or one

who is dead, which requires that the post must identify the person
defamed, or at the very least, the person defamed is identifiable by a third
person.
e. The imputation must tend to cause the dishonor, discredit or contempt of
the person defamed. (Reyes, Luis B., Revised Penal Code, Fifteenth Edition,
2001, page 932.)

f. The imputation was done through the use of a computer system or any
other similar means which may be devised in the future. (Sec. 4(c)(4) of
R.A. 10175)

Person Liable for Cyber Libel

It must be noted that the Revised Penal Code punishes the person who
shall publish, exhibit or cause the publication or exhibition of a libelous
post, or the editor or business manager of a book, pamphlet, newspaper,
magazine or serial publication containing the libelous material:

“Art. 360. Persons responsible. — Any person who shall publish, exhibit, or

cause the publication or exhibition of any defamation in writing or by
similar means, shall be responsible for the same.

The author or editor of a book or pamphlet, or the editor or business

manager of a daily newspaper, magazine or serial publication, shall be
responsible for the defamations contained therein to the same extent as if
he were the author thereof.

Therefore, in relation to the crime of cyber libel, you have two (2)
personalities that are clearly subjected to liability for the crime:

1. The author of the libelous post, which includes the person who
shall publish, exhibit or cause the publication of the libelous
post. The person who created the libelous post would fall under
this category.
2. The editor or business manager, in case the libelous post is
contained in a book, pamphlet, newspaper, magazine or serial
publication.

Penalty for Cyber Libel

Traditional libel is punished under the Revised Penal Code, as amended by

Republic Act No. 10951, as follows:

“Art. 355. Libel by means of 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 prisión correccional in its minimum and
medium periods or a fine ranging from Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000) to
One million two hundred thousand pesos (₱1,200,000), or both, in addition
to the civil action which may be brought by the offended party.”

The penalty under Prision Correccional in its minimum period involve

imprisonment from 6 months and 1 day to 2 years and 4 months. On the
other hand, Prision Correccional in its medium period involve
imprisonment from 2 years, 4 months and 1 day to 4 years. Thus, using the
computation of periods for penalties under the Revised Penal Code, the
penalty imposed for traditional libel involves imprisonment from 6 months
and 1 day to 4 years and 2 months.

On the other hand, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 punishes the

crime of cyber libel as follows:

“Section 6. All crimes defined and penalized by the Revised Penal Code, as
amended, and special laws, if committed by, through and with the use of
information and communications technologies shall be covered by the
relevant provisions of this Act: Provided, That the penalty to be imposed
shall be one (1) degree higher than that provided for by the Revised Penal
Code, as amended, and special laws, as the case may be.”

Since the crime of traditional libel is punished under the Revised Penal
Code, and under the cyber crime prevention act, if the crime is cyber libel,
“the penalty to be imposed shall be one (1) degree higher than that
provided for by the Revised Penal Code, as amended”, the penalty
imposed would be Prision Correccional in its maximum period to Prision
Mayor in its minimum period.

Prision Correccional in its maximum period involve imprisonment from 4

years, 2 months and 1 day to 6 years. On the other hand, Prision Mayor in
its minimum period involve imprisonment 6 years and 1 day to 8 years.

Thus, the penalty for cyber libel, based on the penalty under the Revised
Penal Code for traditional libel, and computed under Section 6 of the
Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which increased the penalty by one (1)
degree higher, is 2 year, 4 months and 1 day to 8 years.