GR 120715; (March, 1996) (Digest)
G.R. No. 120715 . March 29, 1996.
FERNANDO SAZON y RAMOS, petitioner, vs. HON. COURT OF APPEALS and PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Fernando Sazon and private complainant Abdon Reyes were both members and former electoral rivals in their homeowners’ association. After losing the election, Reyes filed a protest with the Home Financing Corporation. Subsequently, anonymous leaflets and wall writings critical of Sazon appeared within the subdivision. Believing Reyes to be responsible, Sazon, as editor of the association’s newsletter, published an article in the February 10, 1984 issue of the “PML-Homemaker.” The article labeled Reyes as “super kulit,” a “mandurugas” (swindler), and accused him and another of being the “mastermind” behind defamatory wall writings and of having deceived the community for a long time.
Reyes filed a libel complaint. The Regional Trial Court convicted Sazon, sentencing him to imprisonment and a fine. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction. Sazon appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing the article was a privileged communication, the words were non-actionable epithets, and no damage to reputation was proven.
ISSUE
Whether the published article constitutes libel, and if the defenses of privileged communication and absence of malice are tenable.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty to a fine only. The article constituted libel as it imputed deceit and swindling, which are defamatory per se, tending to cause dishonor, discredit, or contempt. The defense of privileged communication under Article 354(2) of the Revised Penal Code fails. For a communication to be privileged, the alleged defamatory matter must relate to the discharge of official functions. The article attacked Reyes’s private character and conduct within the homeowners’ association dispute, with no reference to his official duties as a public relations consultant. Thus, it is not protected.
Furthermore, the presence of actual malice was established. Malice in fact is evident from the circumstances of rivalry and ill-feeling stemming from the election protest, and from the publication being a retaliatory act for the anonymous writings Sazon attributed to Reyes. The use of strong, derogatory, and uncalled-for language demonstrated an intent to injure Reyes’s reputation. Consequently, the libel is established, and the modified penalty is imposed.