This document discusses various aspects of media and privacy law in the Philippines. It begins by outlining the duties of justice and how the sphere of duties does not always coincide with legal obligations. It then summarizes key provisions in the Philippine Constitution regarding communication, privacy, access to information, and ownership of mass media. The document also defines libel law, copyright law, and exceptions to access of information. It concludes by describing the four basic types of privacy rights under Philippine law.

1. MEDIA LAW
Rachel E. Khan
Professor, Journalism Department, College of Mass Communication
University of the Philippines, Diliman

2. “Every citizen has certain duties of justice.
The degree of importance of these duties
depend, naturally, on the level of relations
with one another.” – Day
The sphere of the duties of Justice does not
always coincide with the sphere of juridical
obligations..why?
 because not everything that has to do
with justice can be covered by a law;
Because some civil laws can be unjust.
Therefore, 3 forms:
• Ethical = Legal
• Ethical ≥ Legal
• Ethical ≠ Legal

3. Philippine Constitution
Article II, Section 24:
The State recognizes the vital role of
communication and information in nation-
building
Article III, Section 3
1. The privacy of communication and
correspondence shall be inviolable except
upon lawful order of the court, or when public
safety or order requires otherwise, as
prescribed by law.
2. Any evidence obtained in violation of this or
the preceding section shall be inadmissible for
any purpose in any proceeding.

4. Philippine Constitution
Article III, Section 7
The right of the people to information on matters of public
concern shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to
documents and papers pertaining to official acts,
transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research
data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded
the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by
law.
Article XVI, Section 10
The State shall provide the policy environment for the full
development of Filipino capability and the emergence of
communication structures suitable to the needs and
aspirations of the nation and the balanced flow of
information into, out of, and across the country, in
accordance with a policy that respects the freedom of speech
and of the press.

5. Philippine Constitution
Article XVI, Section 11
The ownership and management of mass media shall be
limited to citizens of the Philippines, or to corporations,
cooperatives or associations, wholly-owned and managed by
such citizens.
1. The Congress shall regulate or prohibit monopolies in
commercial mass media when the public interest so
requires. No combinations in restraint of trade or unfair
competition therein shall be allowed.
2. The advertising industry is impressed with public
interest, and shall be regulated by law for the protection of
consumers and the promotion of the general welfare.

6. Philippine Constitution
Article XVI, Section 11
The ownership and management of mass media shall be
limited to citizens of the Philippines, or to corporations,
cooperatives or associations, wholly-owned and managed by
such citizens.
3. Only Filipino citizens or corporations or associations at
least seventy per centum of the capital of which is owned by
such citizens shall be allowed to engage in the advertising
industry.
4. The participation of foreign investors in the governing
body of entities in such industry shall be limited to their
proportionate share in the capital thereof, and all the
executive and managing officers of such entities must be
citizens of the Philippines.

7. Libel law
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 discredit or
cause the dishonor or contempt of a natural or juridical
person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead.
Thus, the elements of libel are:
(a) imputation of a discreditable act or condition to
another;
(b) publication of the imputation;
(c) identity of the person defamed; and,
(d) existence of malice.
[Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines; libel is
defined as Daez v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 47971, 31 October 1990,
191 SCRA 61, 67]

8. Libel law
“Words calculated to induce suspicion are sometimes more
effective to destroy reputation than false charges directly
made. Ironical and metaphorical language is a favored
vehicle for slander. A charge is sufficient if the words are
calculated to induce the hearers to suppose and
understand that the person or persons against whom they
were uttered were guilty of certain offenses, or are
sufficient to impeach their honesty, virtue, or reputation,
or to hold the person or persons up to public ridicule. . . . ”
[Lacsa v. Intermediate Appellate Court, 161 SCRA 427 (1988)
citing U.S. v. O’Connell, 37 Phil. 767 (1918)]

9. Libel law
The law also presumes that malice is present in every
defamatory imputation. Thus, Article 354 of the Revised
Penal Code provides that:
“Every defamatory imputation is presumed to be malicious,
even if it be true, if no good intention and justifiable motive
for making it is shown, except in the following cases:
1. A private communication made by any person to
another in the performance of any legal, moral or social
duty; and
2. A fair and true report, 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.”

10. Copyright
Philippine copyright law is enshrined in
Republic Act No. 8293, the Intellectual Property Code
of the Philippines,
The law is partly based on United States copyright law and
the principles of the Berne Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works. Unlike many other copyright
laws, Philippine copyright laws also protect patents,
trademarks, and other forms of intellectual property.
The law is enforced through a body established by the law:
the Intellectual Property Office, or IPO, and its various
branches. Copyright implementation is done with the
coordination of the IPO and the Copyright Division of
the National Library of the Philippines.

12. Copyright
The Intellectual Property Code splits works that may be
copyrighted into 17 classes, listed from A to Q. While all the
classes listed are specifically for copyrighted material,
trademarks and other forms of intellectual property,
depending on what it is, are covered as well. Patents do not
have a category.
A: Literature (books, pamphlets, etc.)
B: Periodicals (newspapers, tabloids, magazines, etc.)
C: Public speeches and other public speaking works (speeches,
lectures, sermons, etc.)
D: Letters
E: Television or movie scripts, choreography, and entertainment in
shows
F: Musical works (lyrics, songs, song arrangements, etc.)
G: Art products (drawings, paintings. sculptures, etc.)
H: Ornamental designs and other forms of applied art (not
necessarily industrial designs)

13. Copyright
The Intellectual Property Code splits works that may be
copyrighted into 17 classes, listed from A to Q.
I: Geographical, topographical, architectural, and scientific
works (maps, charts, plans, etc.)
J: Scientific and technical drawings
K: Photographs and cinematographic works made in a process
similar to photography
L: Audio-visual works and cinematographic works made in a
process similar to making audio-visual works
M: Pictures used in advertising (includes logos)
N: Computer programs
O: Other works not covered in classes A-N of a literary, scholarly,
scientific, or artistic nature
P: Sound recordings
Q: Broadcasts

14. Under Philippine copyright law, moral rights are relatively
expansive on the behalf of the copyright holder, which are
listed below:
• Attribution
1. The right to be prominently displayed as the creator
of the copyrighted material, in any form practical to the
work
2. The right to change or even withhold the work from
circulation
• Integrity of ownership
1. The right to object to any alteration detrimental to
the name of the creator of the material
2. The right to restraining the use of the creator's name
in a work not of his making
Copyright

16. Optical Media Board (OMB)
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9239
a.k.a. Anti-Piracy a.k.a. Videogram Regulatory
Board (VRB), is assigned to regulate the
manufacture of optical media in all its forms and
impose stiffer fines and penalties for its illegal
reproduction.

17. Executive order #02
Operationalizing in the Executive Branch the
People’s Constitutional Right to Information and
the State Policies to Full Public Disclosure and
Transparency in Public Service
<https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2016/07/23/executi
ve-order-no-02-s-2016/>
There are 166 exceptions in 9 categories:
1. Information covered by Executive privilege;
2. Privileged information relating to national security, defense or
international relations;
3. Information concerning law enforcement and protection of public and
personal safety;
4. Information deemed confidential for the protection of the privacy of
persons and certain individuals such as minors, victims of crimes, or
the accused;

18. There are 166 exceptions in 9 categories:
5. Information, documents or records known by reason of official
capacity and are deemed as confidential, including those
submitted or disclosed by entities to government agencies,
tribunals, boards, or officers, in relation to the performance of
their functions, or to inquiries or investigation conducted by them
in the exercise of their administrative, regulatory, or quasi-
judicial powers;
6. Prejudicial premature disclosure;
7. Records of proceedings or information from proceedings which,
pursuant to law or relevant rules and regulations, are treated as
confidential or privileged;
8. Matters considered confidential under banking and finance laws,
and their amendatory laws; and,
9. Other exceptions to the right to information under laws,
jurisprudence, and IRR.

19. 1. unreasonable intrusion upon the
seclusion of another;
• for example, physical invasion of a
person's home (e.g., unwanted
entry, looking into windows with
binoculars or camera, tapping
telephone, searching wallet or
purse, repeated and persistent
telephone calls, obtaining financial
data without person's consent, etc.
Privacy Laws:
4 basic kinds of privacy rights:

20. Under the law:
4 basic kinds of privacy rights:
2. appropriation of a person's name or likeness;
successful assertions of this right commonly
involve defendant's use of a person's name or
likeness on a product label or in advertising a
product or service.

21. Under the law:
4 basic kinds of privacy rights:
3. publication of private facts, for example, income
tax data, sexual relations, personal letters, family
quarrels, medical treatment, photographs of
person in his/her home.
4. publication that places a person in a false light,
which is similar to defamation. A successful
defamation action requires that the information be
false. In a privacy action the information is
generally true, but the information created a false
impression about the plaintiff.