12 March 2019

Ms. Ghelly Belen

606 F. Layacan Sr. Street, Brgy San Miguel, Baras, Rizal.

Subject : Legal Opinion

--------------------------------------

Gentlemen:

You relayed to me your concern whether you may file a case against your Batchmate who you
allegedly say posted screenshots of a private conversation between you and your Batchmate in a Group
Chat with your whole High School Batch with 148 members containing defamatory messages regarding
your visual appearance and tell-tales about your relationship with the current Kapitan of your Baranggay.

Your query is if such act is tantamount to the Cyber-Crime of Libel, and whether you may request from
the Court an Order preventing her from going back to Spain since she is a Balikbayan.

As a preliminary, the Revised Penal Code provides that:

Art. 353. Definition of libel. — A libel is 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.1

For an imputation to be libelous, the following requisites must concur: a) it must be defamatory; b) it must
be malicious; c) it must be given publicity and d) the victim must be identifiable.2

Under the Section 4, (c)(4) of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 otherwise known as Republic Act no.
10175:

The unlawful or prohibited acts of libel as defined in Article 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.3

In the case at bar, the defamatory implications where published through a Computer System -Facebook.
Thus, making it fall under the said Act.

It is true that the words that were thrown at you for scoffing at your current physical state due to the
effects of your current health condition which is diabetes is enough to be considered as defamatory.

The implications regarding your visual appearance such as a person who looks like a “buhay na bungong
naglalakad” and that you were the reason for the annulment between the Kapitan and his former wife.
1
Art. 353, Revised Penal Code.
2
Sec. 4(c)(4), Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012
3
Novicio v. Aggabao, 463 Phil. 510, 516 (2003)
Since you were allegedly first his mistress and is also defamatory and enough to be considered made with
malice. This, coupled with the sending this to your Group chat publicizing such defamatory implications
and your identification as the same.

All the elements for libel concur and I have reason to believe that an information may be filed with the
office of the Prosecutor for such crime.

As regards your other query, a Hold Departure Order may be filed with the Regional Court once jurisdiction
is acquired over the person of the Accused.

You may or may not file the case against her but you must know that this entails expending money for an
Attorney. Moreover, the waiting time for the Fiscal for the determination whether there is probable cause
will be more than a month before it may or may not be filed with the Court. Until such time, your colleague
may have already returned back to Spain before the court have acquired jurisdiction over her person. If
you are willing to take the risk, notwithstanding the impending expenditures for Legal Services then I will
wait for your confirmation so that I may recommend a Lawyer.

Should you have any other concern, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you.

Very Truly yours.

1
Art. 353, Revised Penal Code.
2
Sec. 4(c)(4), Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012
3
Novicio v. Aggabao, 463 Phil. 510, 516 (2003)