ESPUELAS vs.

PEOPLE

90 Phil.524

FACTS: Oscar Espuelas y Mendoza was convicted in the CFI of Bohol of a violation of
Art. 142 of the Revised Penal Code. From June 9 to June 24, 1947, the appellant had
his picture taken making it appear that he hang himself from a tree, secured copies
of said photographs and sent it with a fake suicide note to several newspapers and
weeklies of general circulation throughout the Philippines and abroad. The letters
contained scurrilous libel against the government that called the same one of
crooks and dishonest persons infested with Nazis and a Fascistis i.e. dictators. And
the communication reveals a tendency to produce dissatisfaction or a feeling
incompatible with the disposition to remain loyal to the government.
ISSUES: whether or not the accused is liable of seditious libel under Art. 142 of the
RPC against the Government of the Philippines.
RULING: yes. The accused must be found guilty as charged.
RATIO: writings which tend to overthrow or undermine the security of the
government or to weaken the confidence of the people in the government are
against public peace, and are criminal not only because they tend to incite to a
breach of the peace but because they are conducive to the destruction of the very
government itself. The freedom of speech secured by the Constitution does not
confer an absolute right to speak or publish without responsibility, and does not
give immunity for every possible use of language and does not prevent the
punishment of those who abuse this freedom. The publication suggest or incites
rebellious conspiracies or riots and tends to stir up people against the constituted
authorities, or to provoke violence from opposition, which is the sum and substance
of the offense under consideration.