Imprisonment no longer penalty in libel - SC

Chief Justice Reynato Puno on Thursday said the Supreme Court will issue guidelines in the observance of a rule of preference in the imposition of penalties in libel cases instead of imprisonment if found guilty. Speaking to reporters following his speech before newly inducted officers and members of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex), Puno said an administrative circular will be issued soon as an interim measure while the bill decriminalizing libel has not yet been passed by Congress. "It's not really new. This [would] address the judges that when the penalty imposed is imprisonment and/or fine, the judges should in the exercise of their discretion impose just a fine not imprisonment. These are interim measures, which will help members of media that when there is conviction the penalty should no longer be imprisonment but only fine," Puno said. Under Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), a libel is committed by means of writing, printing, lithography, engraving, radio phonograph, painting, theatrical exhibition, cinematographic exhibition or any similar means, shall be punished by prison correccional in its minimum and medium period or a fine ranging from P200 to P6,000 or both in addition to civil action which may be brought by the offended party. Puno said the circular should not be mistaken for the pending bill in Congress decriminalizing libel since the guidelines simply direct judges to prefer the payment of fines to aggrieved parties instead of imprisonment in case of a conviction. He said the Court decided to come up with such circular after reviewing libel cases brought before it and found out that a lot of them are committed "with honest intention." However, in a draft circular obtained by reporters, the SC said judges should bear in mind that the circular "does not remove imprisonment as an alternative penalty for the crime of libel." It stated that the judges may, "taking into consideration the peculiar circumstances of each case, determine whether the imposition of a fine alone would best serve the interests of justice or whether forbearing to impose imprisonment would depreciate the seriousness of the offense, work violence on the social order, or otherwise be contrary to the imperatives of justice." The Court further stated that, should only a fine be imposed and the accused be unable to pay the fine, there is no legal obstacle to the application of the RPC provisions on subsidiary imprisonment. - GMANews.TV

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