Speculation and opinion related to local events

There have been defamation cases threatened in the past on this forum. One or two of them legitimate enough that a public apology letter had to be published to prevent a criminal case from being filed against the poster.

After I took over the forum it was owned and operated by an LLC in the US, so Philippine law did not apply. No way would I have handed over user data to a Philippine court...at least not without them getting a US court to order me to obey, which never would have happened. That LLC no longer owns this forum. I believe it, and the owners, fall under Philippine jurisdiction now.

Remember that defamation (both libel and slander) in the Philippines is a CRIMINAL offense, punishable by up to 2 years in prison, not a civil matter like in much of the west. Also, unlike in the west, truth and validity of the statement makes no difference and is not a defense. What matters is the intent behind your words; if your intention was to "tarnish the image" of a business or person then you are guilty of criminal defamation. The only defense you can use is that the intent of making your words public was in the public's interest.

Also remember that even if your words were said/written in private, between just one other person, that is still defamation.