Spreading Gossip: When It Becomes a Crime

Article 364, as amended by Republic Act No. 10951 (2017), reads:

That is the whole article. It sits next to incriminating an innocent person (Article 363) in the chapter on "incriminatory machinations".

From its words, two things:

• An intrigue. The Code does not define the word. In ordinary use, an intrigue is a secret scheme or plotting, rather than an open statement made to someone's face or in public.
• A principal purpose to blemish honor or reputation. The main aim must be to damage the person's good name. A purpose such as warning someone, or simply passing on news, points away from the article.

No Supreme Court ruling on Article 364 is explained on this page. Whether a set of acts is an intrigue with that purpose is decided by the prosecutor and, in the end, the court.

Libel under Article 353 is a public and malicious imputation of a crime, vice or defect, real or imaginary, or of any act, condition or circumstance that tends to dishonor or discredit a person. Oral defamation is the same kind of imputation made in spoken words. So when a person openly says, in front of others, that someone is a thief, the prosecutor may look at Article 358 first. Article 364 covers the quieter scheme meant to damage a name.

Article 364 does not mention any means; it speaks only of "any intrigue". A written post that publicly accuses someone may be libel instead, and posts on social media are discussed on the page on cyber libel for a Facebook post.

These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.

Weng wants her officemate to lose a promotion. Over several weeks she quietly hints to different coworkers that the officemate "might" be stealing supplies, never saying it openly, and asks each of them to keep it secret. If the court finds that her main purpose was to blemish the officemate's reputation, this may be intriguing against honor.

Dante stands up at a barangay assembly and says his neighbor is a thief. That is an open accusation in spoken words, so oral defamation under Article 358 is the closer fit, as the prosecutor and the court decide.

Celia tells a friend that she heard a contractor leaves projects unfinished, because the friend is about to hire him. If her main purpose is to warn her friend, not to blemish the contractor's honor, the purpose the article requires may be missing.

Many disputes between people living in the same city or municipality must first go through barangay conciliation before a complaint is filed. Whether this step applies depends on the parties and the offense. See do I need to go to the barangay first? and the barangay guides. Acts that only annoy or irritate, without a purpose against someone's honor, may be unjust vexation.

Talk to a lawyer if rumors are damaging your name or your work, if you were accused of spreading them, or if you are unsure whether the facts are intriguing against honor, oral defamation or libel. Time limits for filing can be short for these offenses: see prescription of crimes. If you cannot afford a lawyer, see Free legal help in the Philippines for the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) and other options.