G.R. No. L-19075 November 23, 1966
Estefania de Guzman, petitioner, vs. People of the Philippines and Court of Appeals, respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Estefania de Guzman, a section chief at the Philippine National Bank, called complainant Lourdes A. Tagle, a job analyst at the same bank, to her office on October 31, 1958, to discuss Tagle’s debt. They agreed Tagle would deliver jewelry as security. After Tagle left, de Guzman discovered ₱90.00 missing from her table and suspected Tagle, as she was the only one who had approached it. De Guzman had Tagle recalled. Confronting Tagle about the loss, de Guzman stated Tagle was the only one who approached her table and that the money disappeared after she left. When Tagle denied taking it, de Guzman replied, “who knows?”, and questioned why Tagle had her wallet during the first visit but not during the second. De Guzman then suggested Tagle submit to a search. These statements were made in a loud voice in the presence of other bank employees. Tagle’s wallet was fetched and opened in front of others, but the money was not found.

ISSUE

Whether the petitioner’s utterances constituted slander with malice.

RULING

Yes. The Court affirmed the conviction for slander under Article 358 of the Revised Penal Code. The petitioner’s acts and statements, while not a direct accusation of theft, clearly implied that the complainant had stolen the money. By making the imputations loudly in the presence of others, she went beyond a mere inquiry and subjected the complainant to embarrassment and ridicule. Malice in fact was present, as evidenced by the circumstances, including the petitioner’s irritation over the complainant’s unpaid debt and the public manner of the confrontation, which was not discreet. The Court modified the judgment by reducing the indemnity to the complainant from ₱1,000.00 to ₱500.00, but otherwise affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals.