LIBEL

The crime of libel is committed when a person makes, against another, a

public and malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or
imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status or circumstance tending
to cause the dishonor, discredit or contempt of a natural or juridical person,
or to blacken the memory of one who is dead (Article 353, Revised Penal
Code).

When libel is committed by means of writing, printing, lithography,

engraving, radio, phonograph, painting, theatrical exhibition,
cinematographic exhibition or any similar means, the penalty imposed
under the law is prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods
or a fine ranging from 200 to 6,000 pesos, or both, in addition to the civil
action that may be brought by the offended party. (Article 355, Ibid.)

To address the changing times as well as the advancement of technology,

Republic Act (RA) 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 was
passed into law. One of the salient parts of RA 10175 is Section 4 (c) (4),
which renders unlawful or prohibited acts of libel those mentioned under
Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, if such acts are
committed through a computer system or any other similar means that may
be devised in the future.

Accordingly, your brother’s friend may institute a complaint against him for
libel if the photo and the caption that your brother posted on social media
were publicly made and in such a manner that they maliciously impute a
crime, or of a vice or defect, or any act, omission, condition, status or
circumstance tending to cause the dishonor, discredit or contempt of his
friend.

We wish to emphasize that there is a presumption of malice in every

defamatory imputation made, notwithstanding whether the imputation
made is true, as long as there is no good intention and justifiable motive for
making it is shown. The only exceptions are: (1) private communications
made by any person to another in the performance of any legal, moral or
social duty; and (2) fair and true reports, made in good faith, without any
comments or remarks, of any judicial, legislative or other official
proceedings which are not of confidential nature, or of any statement,
report or speech delivered in said proceedings, or of any other act
performed by public officers in the exercise of their functions (Article 354,
Id.).

Insofar as filing a complaint against you for the comment that you made on
the same post of your brother, we take into account the ruling of the
Supreme Court in the case of Jose Jesus M. Disini Jr. et al. vs. The
Secretary of Justice et al. (G.R. No. 203335, February 11, 2014):

“x x x But the Court’s acquiescence goes only insofar as the cybercrime law
penalizes the author of the libelous statement or article. Cyberlibel brings
with it certain intricacies, unheard of when the penal code provisions on
libel were enacted. The culture associated with Internet media is distinct
from that of print. x x x

“Of course, if the ‘Comment’ does not merely react to the original posting
but creates an altogether new defamatory story against Armand like ‘He
beats his wife and children,’ then that should be considered an original
posting published on the Internet. Both the penal code and the cybercrime
law clearly punish authors of defamatory publications. Make no mistake,
libel destroys reputations that society values. Allowed to cascade in the
Internet, it will destroy relationships and, under certain circumstances, will
generate enmity and tension between social or economic groups, races, or
religions, exacerbating existing tension in their relationships. x x
x”(underscoring supplied)