Short answer. Libel is a public and malicious imputation that tends to dishonour, discredit or hold someone in contempt. A complainant must prove four things: the statement was defamatory, it was malicious, it was published to a third person, and the person defamed is identifiable from it.
What the law says
A libel is 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 cause the dishonor, discredit, or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead.
Revised Penal Code, Article 353 — Definition Of Libel. Read the full provision →
The four elements, one by one
Defamatory imputation. The words must impute a crime, a vice or defect — real or imaginary — or any act, omission, condition, status or circumstance that tends to dishonour or discredit. Truth of the vice does not by itself save the speaker; the article expressly covers defects that are real. Malice. Every defamatory imputation is presumed malicious unless good intention and justifiable motive are shown. Publication. At least one person other than the writer and the person defamed must have read or heard it. Identifiability. The complainant need not be named, but a third person must be able to tell that he is the one meant.
Who and what the article protects
Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code protects a natural or juridical person, so a company can be defamed as well as an individual. It also reaches statements that blacken the memory of one who is dead, which is why an attack on a deceased person can still generate a complaint, brought by the surviving family. What it does not protect is a group so large that no member is individually identifiable — sweeping abuse of a whole profession or a whole town usually fails on that element. Nor does it reach an insult delivered privately to the target alone, with nobody else present: without publication there is no libel.
The defences that actually work
The Code privileges certain communications. A private communication made in the performance of a legal, moral or social duty, and a fair and true report of official proceedings made in good faith and without comments, are qualifiedly privileged — the presumption of malice does not attach, and the complainant must prove actual malice. Proof of truth is admissible where the imputation concerns a public officer's official conduct, or where the act charged is a crime, provided it was published with good motives and for justifiable ends. Fair comment on matters of public interest is the working defence for journalism and for criticism of officials.
Where it is filed and what it costs
Libel is a criminal offence and a civil wrong at the same time, so a complaint can carry both a prison exposure and a claim for moral damages. Penalty amounts throughout the Revised Penal Code were revised by Republic Act No. 10951 (2017), so any figure taken from an older reproduction of the Code is out of date. Defamation committed through a computer system is separately punished under the Cybercrime Prevention Act, Republic Act No. 10175 (2012), which carries a heavier penalty. Venue and prescription rules for libel are unusually strict. This page is general legal information, not advice; to have a post or an article assessed, you can book a consultation.