THE Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has recommended the amendment of provisions in the Revised Penal Code and Cybercrime Prevention Act that impose imprisonment as a penalty in libel and cyber libel cases.
CHR Chairman Richard Palpal-latoc said on Thursday that Congress must act decisively in advancing measures that seek to decriminalize libel and cyberlibel.
“Prison penalties for defamation have long undermined freedom of expression, weakened press freedom, and enabled legal harassment against journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens,” Palpal-latoc said in a statement emailed to The Manila Times.He said lawmakers must consider amending Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and Section 4(c)(4) of the Cybercrime Law to remove imprisonment as a penalty for libel and cyberlibel.
However, the commission believed there is a need to retain the imposition of civil liability for proven defamatory statements, ensuring that remedies for reputational damage remain; adopting civil remedies for defamation; providing human rights-based training for law enforcers and the judiciary; enhancing protections for media workers and human rights defenders; and facilitating multistakeholder consultations to revisit defamation laws.
The agency noted that criminal libel provisions under the two existing laws have been repeatedly weaponized, often through strategic lawsuits against public participation, to silence critics and hinder public discourse.
It also cited prominent cases involving journalists facing cyberlibel charges and the broader impact on investigative reporting and citizen speech.
The CHR underscored that restrictions on expression must be lawful, necessary, and proportionate, drawing from international standards, including Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“The UN (United Nations) Human Rights Committee has explicitly stated that imprisonment is never an appropriate penalty for defamation, and several UN member states have urged the Philippines to repeal its criminal defamation laws during the 2022 Universal Periodic Review,” said Palpal-latoc.
He noted that that several bills in the 20th Congress have been filed that provide legislative pathways to remove imprisonment for either libel, cyberlibel, or both, and replace them with proportionate civil remedies.
At the House of Representatives, three measures — House Bills 1188, 441 and 6187 — have proposed amendments to advance such a reform. At the Senate, Senate Bills 810, 476 and 250 also call for decriminalization, he said.
Palpal-latoc urged both chambers to consolidate and prioritize these legislative initiatives consistent with the international human rights standards.
“We (CHR) are calling on both chambers of Congress to champion this reform as a commitment to press freedom and the public’s right to information,” he said.
