Recently, the arrest of a former broadcaster and host – known for his defunct evening talk show with another prominent media personality – has captured public attention. The arrest was carried out by virtue of a warrant issued by a Pasay City Regional Trial Court in relation to a criminal case filed against him and a certain vlogger for allegedly spreading false information or “fake news” concerning the health and purported illness of President Bongbong Marcos.
The charges against them stem from an alleged violation of Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by Section 18 of Republic Act 101951 or the Unlawful Use of Means of Publication and Unlawful Utterances.
Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code as amended states that:
Art. 154. Unlawful use of means of publication and unlawful utterances. – The penalty of arresto mayor or a fine of Two Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 200,000.00) shall be imposed upon: (1) Any person who by means of printing, lithography, or any other means of publication, shall maliciously publish as news any false news which may endanger the public order or cause damage to the interest or credit of the State; (2) Any person who by the same means, shall encourage disobedience to the law or to the constituted authorities or praise, justify or extol any act punished by law; (3) Any person who shall maliciously publicize any official resolution or document without proper authority, or before they have been published officially; or (4) Any person who shall print or publish books, pamphlets, periodicals or leaflets which do not bear the real printer’s name.
The case of the former broadcaster falls under paragraph 1 of Article 154 which focuses on the publication or dissemination of false news or “fake news”. It bears emphasis, however, that not all forms of false information automatically fall within the ambit of this provision. The law specifically requires the presence of either of the two elements: (1) That the false news endanger the public order; and (2) That the false news cause damage to the interest or credit of the State. Absent these elements, criminal liability under Article 154 cannot arise.
This clearly demonstrates our laws deficiency to address and suppress the widespread proliferation of fake news and dissemination of false information. The Revised Penal Code, having been crafted and passed in a time dominated by traditional print media, now faces the challenge of being applied to a vastly different and more complex information ecosystem. The rise of online platforms, influencers and independent content creators, as well as the advent of artificial intelligence and deep fake technologies, present new challenges that our present laws may not be equipped to address.
Thus, it is indeed high time for our legislators to enact laws mandating a more responsible news dissemination, social media usage and imposing the appropriate penalty for fake news peddlers.
One notable legislative effort in this regard is Senate Bill No. 1492, introduced by Senator Joel Villanueva, which seeks to penalize the malicious dissemination of false information.
Section 2 thereof provides that: “Malicious Creation and Distribution of False News. It shall be unlawful for any person to maliciously offer, publish, distribute, circulate, and spread false news or information or cause the publication, distribution, circulation or spreading of the same in print, broadcast or online media, provided that, such false news or information cause or tend to cause panic, division, chaos, violence, hate or which exhibit or tend to exhibit a propaganda to blacken or discredit one’s reputation and the person knowingly commits such act with full knowledge that such news or information is false, or with reasonable grounds to believe that the same is false.
Any person who shall be found guilty of committing any of the foregoing acts shall be punished by a fine ranging from One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000) to Five Million Pesos (P5,000,000) and imprisonment ranging from one (1) to five (5) years. Any person who aids or abets any person committing any of the foregoing acts shall be liable for a fine ranging from Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000) to Three Million Pesos (P3,000,000) and imprisonment ranging from six (6) months to three (3) years.
If the offender is a public official, he shall be liable for twice the amount of the fine imposed above, and be imprisoned for two times longer than the period provided herein. In addition, he shall also suffer the accessory penalty of absolute perpetual disqualification from holding any public office.”
Section 3, on the other hand, states: “SECTION 3. Failure to Remove False News. It shall be unlawful for any mass media enterprise or social media platform to fail, neglect or refuse to remove false news or information within a reasonable period after having knowledge, or having reasonable grounds to believe, of its falsity. Any person violating this provision shall be punished by a fine ranging from Ten Million Pesos (P10,000,000) to Twenty Million Pesos (P20,000,000) and imprisonment ranging from ten (10) to twenty (20) years. If the offender is a corporation, the President, Chief Executive Officer and other responsible officers shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment.”