Text of the provision

Art. 359. Slander by deed. - The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prisión correccional in its minimum period or a fine ranging from Twenty thousand pesos (₱20,000) to One hundred thousand pesos (₱100,000) shall be imposed upon any person who shall perform any act not included and punished in this title, which shall cast dishonor, discredit or contempt upon another person. If said act is not of a serious nature. the penalty shall be arresto menor or a fine not exceeding Twenty thousand pesos (₱20,000).

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

Anyone who performs an act not otherwise punished in this title that casts dishonor, discredit or contempt on another suffers arresto mayor in its maximum period to prisión correccional in its minimum period, or a fine of Twenty thousand pesos (₱20,000) to One hundred thousand pesos (₱100,000). If the act is not of a serious nature, the penalty is arresto menor or a fine not exceeding Twenty thousand pesos (₱20,000).

Questions about this provision

Related provisions

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

Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment (Act No. 3815), verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings. The Revised Penal Code has been amended many times; this page reproduces the text as those sources carry it. The annotation and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. How a provision applies to a particular situation depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your case can assess.