Rights, Responsibilities, and

Accountabilities of
Communication Practitioners
Libel as Threat to Human Dignity

LIBEL
publishing a false statement that can threaten a
person’s reputation.
In a more legal perspective, it is a crime against
honor.
Libel as Threat to Human Dignity

LIBEL
“public and malicious imputation of the 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”
(Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines)
Four Elements of Libel

Defamation
Malice
Identification
Publication
The Ethics of Communication

General Practice
 Ethics Manual by the Center For Media
Freedom and Responsibility
The Ethics of Communication

Print and Online Media

 The Journalist’s Code of Ethics by the Philippine
Press Institute
Ethics Manual by the Center For Media Freedom
and Responsibility
Code of Ethics by the Society of Professional
Journalists
Bloggers Code of Ethics
The Ethics of Communication

Broadcast Media
 KBP Broadcast Code
Ethics Manual by the ABS-CBN News and Current
Affairs
Ethics and Editorial Manual by the GMA News and
Public Affairs
R.A. 8370 (The Children’s Television Act of 1997)created
the National Council for Children’s Television, the Television Violence Rating Code,
and the National Endowment Fund for Children’s Television
The Ethics of Communication

Film or Cinema
 P.D. 1986, the charter of the Movie and
Television Review and Classification Board
(MTRCB)
The Ethics of Communication

Advertising
 Advertising Standards by the Advertising Board
of the Philippines
The Ethics of Communication

Public Relations
 Code of Ethical Standards in the Practice of
Public Relations by the Public Relations Society
of the Philippines
Code of Ethical Conduct by the International
Public Relations association
The Ethics of Communication

Communication/Social Research
 Code of Ethics in Research by the Loyola
Schools of Ateneo de Manila University
Code on Market and Social Research by the
International Chamber of Commerce/ESOMAR