Why libel should be decriminalized and the libel law updated: Freedom of the press was only true in that there was no prior censorship; and the libel laws were so strictly enforced by the courts that to criticize a high government official--for instance, a member of the Cabinet--meant a stiff prison term and a sizeable fine, not to mention crippling damages. ~ Sen. Claro M. Recto, speaking before the National Press Club in 1958 as he summed up the American colonial regime in the Philippines. This bit of history is part of the opening salvo of Vic Torres report in the latest issue of the Philippines Graphic on the roots of libel in the PHL, particularly in the Aves de Rapiña case of 1908. The libel law in use now (both amplified in RA 10175 and extant in the 82-year-old Revised Penal Code) is taken from the libel law enacted in Las Islas Filipinas by the Spanish colonial government in 1870. No, the original intent of this draconian law is NOT to protect the people. It was originally designed to protect high-ranking government officials and empower the prosecution of critics and the suppression of free speech as we know it now.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 10:58:45 +0000