Short answer. Yes. Article 359 of the Revised Penal Code punishes slander by deed — any act, not covered elsewhere in the title on crimes against honour, that casts dishonour, discredit or contempt upon another person. The penalty depends on whether the act was of a serious nature or not.
What the law says
any person who shall perform any act not included and punished in this title, which shall cast dishonor, discredit or contempt upon another person
Revised Penal Code, Article 359 — Slander By Deed. Read the full provision →
The gap this article fills
Libel and oral defamation both punish the imputation of something — a statement. But dignity can be attacked without a word being said: slapping someone in front of colleagues, spitting at a person, publicly stripping or shoving someone, or making a gesture whose whole point is to shame. Article 359 exists for exactly that. Two things are required. The act must cast dishonour, discredit or contempt on the person, and it must be an act not included and punished in this title — meaning it is not already one of the defamation offences. The offence lies in the humiliation, not in physical injury.
Serious or not serious changes the penalty
The article draws one line. If the act is of a serious nature, the penalty is arresto mayor in its maximum period to prisión correccional in its minimum period, or a fine of twenty thousand to one hundred thousand pesos. If it is not of a serious nature, the penalty drops to arresto menor or a fine not exceeding twenty thousand pesos. Those peso figures were set by Republic Act No. 10951 (2017), which revised fines throughout the Revised Penal Code; older copies still show the 1930 amounts. Seriousness is judged from the circumstances — where it happened, who saw it, the social standing and relationship of the parties, and the intent behind the act.
Where it overlaps with other offences
The same incident often supports more than one characterisation, and which one is charged matters. If the act caused physical harm, the provisions on physical injuries come into play; the difference is whether the wrong being punished is the wound or the humiliation. If the act was meant to force you to do or not do something, coercion may fit better. If the humiliation was carried out by a partner or former partner against a woman or her child, the special law on violence against women and their children provides its own and often stronger remedies. Where an act is recorded and posted online, the material may also engage the cybercrime law.
Proving humiliation
This charge lives or dies on witnesses, because publicity is what gives the act its sting. Take down the names and contact details of everyone who saw it while memories are fresh, secure any CCTV before it is overwritten — retention is often only days — and keep any video or photographs in their original files rather than as forwarded copies. Note the date, place and exactly who was present. Offences against honour carry short prescriptive periods, so this is not a complaint to sit on for months. No outcome can be promised; bring what you have to counsel early.