LIBEL

The care needed when writing anything about anyone in this country is shown by this case (where I am redacting or modifying all identifiable information):

The Regional Trial Court (RTC) of ********* issued a warrant of arrest for ********* related to a cyber libel case filed against her/him

The court order accused her/him of violating Sec 4 (c)(4) of Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act. It states, “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.”

[The accused] criticized one of the doctors at ********* Hospital, [doctor's name given], saying she did not show urgency in treating [the accused's] wife/husband. [The accused] also said the doctor did not update him/her on his/her condition.

[The accused] repeatedly mentioned [the doctor's] name and flashed a photo of the doctor in her vlog. Netizens then accused [the accused] of “doctor shaming”.

[The accused] since took down the video and apologized, saying, “I would like to apologize to Dr. ********* and the other medical staff for the hurt that my post and vlog has caused them.”

But, as noted above, he/she is now accused of cyber libel.

 

The libel and slander laws are a little odd here. If your words or print are intended to cause damage to a persons reputation or business you are guilty. It doesn't matter if your statement was true or not.

The are other strange legal things that apply here.

The other night a motorcycle was counter flowing and decided to cross over to his correct lane at the last second. The oncoming truck killed the motorcyclist. The truck driver was arrested and charged with reckless imprudence causing homicide. The motorcyclist had no OR/CR/License. The motorcycle had no lights according to witnesses.
That was doubly odd as not having a license immediately put a person in the wrong when there is an accident.

 

My question is about what you are doing....reposting factual data from other 3rd parties. I'm not talking about the repeating content from the person being prosecuted. So it could be illegal to post factual data, like the trial information above that has already been published by someone else. What about reposting information from a newspaper? That is a bit much.

 

Out in the Provence it becomes even more interesting, if you want to file a claim of defamation (Slander being spoken word Libel being written word) you must first file a claim with the Barangay Captain. If he is unable to mediate a resolution then a Lupon is convened consisting of 10 to 20 residents who have been appointed. Only after no success with the Lupon is it permissible to file a libel case in the Trial Court system, as you must present a certificate to the trial court showing that you have completed the process.

 

Cases like libel,oral defamation, etc. only happen if the aggrieved party actually goes to court or files a case.A lot of times, they happen without legal sanctions and at times the aggrieved just settle it the nasty way.

 

Sharing recommendations on which doctors to avoid is a very valuable service on this forum. People can surely express their opinion like "I will never use Dr. X again." They can also report facts like "The procedure done by Dr. X was redone by Dr. Y. Dr. Y stated to me that it had to be redone because (state fact here)."

A bit of Internet searching reveals the following:

Similar to most democracies around the world, truth is a viable defense for slander and libel under Philippines defamation laws. “Fair reporting” also qualifies.
Similar to the United States, intent plays a role in Philippines slander and libel lawsuits. Plaintiffs who can prove that their respective defendants purposefully published or broadcast false information, have a better shot at winning.

Philippines courts cannot charge non-resident defendants with criminal defamation.

http://kellywarnerlaw.com/philippines-defamation-laws/

It is too bad that, in order to educate the rest of us, either the court did not publish an opinion detailing the false facts or it was not reported. It looks like the issue may have been determining the medical urgency of the matter.

Yeng then criticized one of the doctors at Dapa Siargao Hospital, saying the doctor didn’t show urgency in attending to Yan

https://www.rappler.com/entertainme...el-norte-court-orders-arrest-yeng-constantino

The person who posted this is not of a position to determine urgency in a medical situation. The poster was not a doctor trained in the determination of medical emergencies so the statement cannot be fact.

Please report it here if you have had a good or bad experience with a doctor. Just be careful to not confuse opinions with facts.

So far my experiences with doctors here has been average.

 

I wasn't commenting on the merit of the court case, but was specifically responding to Mr. Notmyrealname redacting information from the appeared to be a factual statement of what was happening in a court case. In essence he was acting as a reporter. My focus was on this, not the individuals involved in the court case.

For example. Mr. ****** was walking at ******* establishment and the cashier called Mr. ****** a ******. Mr. ****** may or may not have been slandering the cashier, but was me reporting what what I believe to be factual information libel? In other words, did Mr. NMRN really have to redact the information.