Text of the provision
Art. 357. Prohibited publication of acts referred to in the course of official proceedings. - The penalty of arresto mayor or a fine of Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000) to Two hundred thousand pesos (₱200,000), or both, shall be imposed upon any reporter, editor or manager of a newspaper, daily or magazine, who shall publish facts connected with the private life of another and offensive to the honor, virtue and reputation of said person, even though said publication be made in connection with or under the pretext that it is necessary in the narration of any judicial or administrative proceedings wherein such facts have been mentioned.
Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, Act No. 3815, as amended. Reproduced in full from the official enactment and verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings.
What this article means
A reporter, editor or manager of a newspaper, daily or magazine who publishes facts about another’s private life that offend that person’s honour, virtue and reputation faces arresto mayor or a fine of Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000) to Two hundred thousand pesos (₱200,000), or both — even if published as part of the narration of judicial or administrative proceedings where the facts came up.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 356 — Threatening To Publish A Libel.
- Article 358 — Slander.
Penalty amounts. The text above is the article as amended by Republic Act No. 10951 (2017), which revised the property values and fines throughout this Code. Older reproductions of the Revised Penal Code still print the 1930 amounts — for theft and estafa they show 12,000 and 22,000 pesos where the current figures run to millions. Check which version any source you rely on is giving you.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.