We Americans are often outspoken. In my case I know I often ‘shout’ from the hip and sometimes regret it later. I’ve seen a lot of fellow expats that make me look like a statesman. Some folks are even loud, abusive and “bastos” … but I’m talking here about conversations in a normal voice without profanity.
In the US we have pretty well-developed “freedom of speech”. I can see some overweight lady on the street and call her a “fat cow” and although that would be pretty rude and nasty, in most cases she can’t take legal action.
I can write about a political figure and say “I think he is crooked as dog’s hind leg, I bet if they investigate him they’ll find he’s taking bribes” and so on and most likely I won’t get in any trouble … especially if I use the weasel words, “I my opinion”. If I say something like the guy is a pedophile and he has sex with little children then I have probably crossed the line and he may be able to take me to civil court and sue me for “libel” (written defamation) or “slander” (spoken defamation).
Even then I might get away with it if the guy really is a convicted pedophile, because in most cases the truth is a valid defense against accusations of slander. If you weigh 450 pounds I probably can call you fat and the case isn’t going to get into court … you are fat and to win any kind of case you are going to have to show that my unkind remarks actually damaged you, cost you a job or some other action that can be translated into a dollar value. In most cases hurt feelings aren’t actionable.
Important Philippine Differences: Do not come here to the Philippines and plan on speaking or writing in that way. There are a lot of things about the Philippine Constitution that are similar to the US Constitution, but the principles of “free speech” here are very, very different. It doesn’t matter what country you are a citizen of, when you are visiting or living here you are under the laws of this nation, not your own. Many guys seem to think if they get into trouble they can just “invoke” the US Embassy and get out of jail free. What the US Embassy will do for you if you get in legal trouble here is, give you a list of Philippine lawyers and wish you luck. That’s the total distance your US Passport will take you.
In the US, no matter how egregious your statements abut another person are you can’t be arrested for them … unless your statements somehow connect to another crime … if you scream at the President, “I’ll kill you you ignorant a-hole” the Secret Service will likely arrest you, not because you slandered the President but because you uttered a death threat, which is criminal. Otherwise, even the President will have to file an ordinary Civil Court case … could cost you money, but can’t send you to jail.
In the Philippines, libel or slander is criminal. Get upset with, say, the Mayor in your town and scream at him. “You fat, stupid crook, did someone bribe you to turn down my business license request?” and he can, as can any Filipino, legally have you arrested and thrown in jail. That statement is likely good for three counts of slander. This is totally mind-boggling to some Americans, that’s why I am making the point here.
I’ve seen foreigners … and Filipinos … lose their temper at public officials, taxi drivers, bank managers, etc. and use words that are slanderous. They do so very much at their own, significant risk. If you say it and others hear it … the person whom you wrong with your mouth has every legal right to call the police and if the police find “probable cause” that you committed slander you may very well be hauled off to jail. That’s the way it is, and if you don’t feel you can live under laws like that you really should think twice before you decide on the Philippines as a place to live.
Another very important difference that concerns everyone reading this blog post. In the US we have a law commonly known as the CDA (Communications Decency Act of 1996). Like a lot of laws it seems almost to work in reverse of the common meaning of it’s name. because, in general, the CDA absolves Internet service providers and publishers (like a chat room operator or blogger allowing comments on his/her blog) from liability for statements that others may make.
So if you are in the USA and you write an accusation that some Filipino government official is taking bribes, or a woman you dated is repeatedly deceiving man in order to steal their money, most likely no one either in the US or in the Philippines can take any action. A crook is a crook, a hooker is a hooker, after all.
But if you are in the Philippines you are under the umbrella of Philippine law. It does not matter what passport you carry or where the server that your online words are published is located, if you wrote the words or offer a service .. such as allowing folks to make comments that the public can then read, you fall under the law of the Philippines, and there is no CDA here.
This is not just a problem for foreigners. A Filipino citizen friend who operates an ISP .. his business is here, his server is in the US … has been in court twice in the last two years. The charge? Allowing others to make defamatory comments about certain people in the Philippines. My friend did not make the comments but that carried no weight. The service was not located in the Philippines. That carried no weight either. My friend was the provider of the medium where the comments were made, thus his service defamed the people who were wronged. Luckily he was able to ‘escape’ jail time and court ordered damages both times by laboriously explaining to the court how the message boards worked … but he lost days and days of work and incurred thousands and thousands of dollars (hundreds of thousands of Pesos) in legal expenses.
This is the reason I don’t have forums on my own site and why I have to monitor the comments like a hawk … it drives some foreigners crazy. Sometimes I have to restrict people posting simple links to other web sites because the other site advertises dating services … innocuous enough but illegal under Philippine law. “Free speech” they cry, “free speech”. It just doesn’t work that way here.
Remember when your Mommy taught you, “If you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all”? That goes double here. When traveling to or living in the Philippines … think twice, or maybe three times before you say it … and then, don’t.
The only thing I can question about your statement is why can elected officials in the Philippines accuse each other everything that's ever been thought of, and even pubically demand a coup, but not be arrested ?
Hi Dave,Great post,very sound advice.Another major difference in culture to be wary about is loss of face.If you offend a Filipino and cause him/her to lose face,the result can be worse than jail,even fatal.(I thought it was worth a mention).It pays to do your homework before you visit PI.A good place to start is to read "Culture Shock" or similar,regards Chas.
Great Post Dave!
This has been my stance on the Philippines for some time now. I even had a "spirited" debate with a member of another forum over the "dating" site issue. It was a short debate coz arguing with a fool makes it hard to destinguish who's what. If you know what I mean.
Don
Hi John,
Case in point, Sen. Honassan staged about 9 coups during the Cory Administration. The only punishment meted on him was just 100 push ups..10..20..30..100. Then he ran for public office. Public officials in the Phil are of a certain breed. 🙂 They can get away with many things, immunity from libel suit included, because their public office carries with them such immunity.
In libel suits, an important element is malice. if one makes malicious or false claims against another either in verbal or in writing, such person who makes those claims can do so with the caveat that he may be liable for libel. Free speech is not free from any responsibilities about your utterances.
My point is to be aware of libel is not much of a challenge really. The possibility of libel is not really a threat to freedom of speech. It doesn't make the Phil a police state or anything. It just protects innocent people who could be subjected to lies.
Dave:
An important article every expat should read, and re-read to make sure it sinks in.
This freedom is one that Americans take for granted. When I was arrested in the UAE last year after a traffic accident, the charge was assault. Assault? I never touched the guy! When I emerged from my car, I said something to the effect of "What the F*** is your problem?". I slandered him (justifiably so and I hope he dies a slow, lingering, very painful death) and he had a hate of Americans in general. Verbal assault. I was charged the same as if I hit him with a brick to the head. It was a VERY expensive mistake in judgement ($30,000 in attorneys and two months without a passport). The American Embassy did not "get me off", but they were helpful in the resolution of the situation (In my favor). Perhaps it was due to the fact that I was working with the gov't on military projects and my sponsor was extremely high ranked. In any event, caution is, as you wrote, well advised.
Hi Dave – This is a very important article. You are right that Americans take Freedom of Speech very seriously, and most think they are protected worldwide. It isn't the case. A while back, somebody left a comment on this site asking me why I don't write articles critical of the Philippines more often. Well, firstly, I have a lot more positive things to say about the Philippines than I do negative, but the other side of the coin is that if I write something here, it is out there for the whole world to see, and can be read any time. If I say the wrong critical thing, I may be invited to leave the country, and I don't want to leave, so I watch my words carefully. Lately, I have been really wanting to write about the "Euro Generals" controversy, but I keep telling myself not to write about that, because it is a political issue, and I am afraid that I might say something that could get me into trouble, so I avoid it. Sometimes I write things here that sort of skirt around the issue, but if people read between the lines, I am quite sure they can get my meaning. It's a matter of watching what you say if you want to continue living here.
Good article, Dave.
Hi John- For most politicians, their office that they hold offers them immunity from libel and slander… that's how they get away with it.
Thanks Dave,
That was indeed informative and helpful. I knew about the "losing face" bit brought up in the comments, but never knew about the liable bit. I guess if you keep in mind not to let anyone lose face, then you probably would not get into any trouble. Better to be safe than sorry in this case.
hi dave,
our constitution provide us a freedom of speech (bill of rights section 4) however, majority of filipinos does not know it exist, Filipino culture of "losing face" is one of the main factor why people gets in trouble when they speak against to a person, i have the rights to say anything i wanted against to anyone, and because of the "losing face" culture the other party also have the rights to protect their "reputation", there is a clash between the "freedom of speech" and the filipino culture of "losing face", I could say anything against my mayor and if the mayor feels i am ruining his reputation i might be slapped with libel if i cannot prove it. it is the culture that hinders our "freedom of speech"
If i were to compare the freedom of speech now and during the marcos era, it is a leap and bound changes, time will come and there will be another change with our freedom of speech (maybe not in my life time)
Hi dans- I don't think that Dave is disagreeing with your freedom of speech. It is different though for a guest here. People like Dave and I are not citizens, and our speech is not as free as would be a citizen like you.
hi bob,
My thought is this, my freedom of speech and yours are almost similar, you can criticize whoever you want in the philippines and i can criticize whoever i want as well, the thing is, if the person we both criticized is not sensitive then it is okay for both for us, otherwise we could be charge with libel, the only difference between you and me is, they could expel you from the country and i won't but i could face a libel suit. we can both practice the freedom of speech but it will be depending on who we are criticizing, as i said i could say bad things about my mayor and if he takes it lightly i will be okay otherwise i might end up facing charges or end up in jail.
another factor that we have to look at is this, it is very uncommon for filipinos to hear a criticism from foreigners living in the philippines, so when a foreigner speaks against the government, everybody will jump to it and it may cause a big headline and of course the culture of "losing face" will take effect.
not unlike in the states, there are so many nationalities from A to Z, and people do not really care whatever you say against the government.
@ John: Well since I am not an elected offical here and in absolutely no danger of becoming one, I surely can't really answer that question. Is there a 'double standard' in what elected officials can say or do and what 'the rest of us' can do? Absolutely. It's no different in the US, by the way. Many elected offices have exemptions from certain laws. Comngressmen and Senators being prime examples. In the UK too there are huge differences … members of Parliment can get downright nasty with each other during debates … say similar things on the street and you could be up before a judge. The world is the world, the Philippines is very little different from most other countries in that respect.
@ Chas … Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You are so right on that point. I think Bob's new series of articles on this is going to be helpful too. basically the key to getting along and even getting your way is, don't back the other fellow into a corner.
You give the other person a way to accommodate what you want while still allowing him to 'save face' and you are 90% of the way to solving whatever situation you are in .. but many of us … I'm in that group … get angry and wind up trying to make the o her person look bad rather than getting what we want. It's very much an American tendency to think that a person's value is related to their bank account … that's just wrong thinking.
@ Don … Welcome and thanks for the kind words. I was given good advice once … it always works for me when I remember to use it … never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and greatly annoys the pig. 😉
@ roy: thanks for your valuable comments. I do have to take a bit of an exception. It is absolutely true that to prove a case of slander or luibel there is a leagl burden to show malice. This is pretty much a universal principle. However: If you wnat to find yourself in court _proving_ there was no malice then you have a different way yo find amusment than I do 😉 re-read my example of my Filipino friend. he was hauklded into court twice in two years. There was no mlaice intended, anyone could see that, but the cases went forward anyway. he won. But he was out days and days from his buisness and he paid thousands and thousands to come out 'right'. In slander and libel even when you win, you lose. As a foreigner I plan to play it safe. ]
And to all, let's not start down the raod to discussing Senator Honassan or any other public figure, please. Nothing in any of the controversy surround him has anything to do with how slander and libel may affect John Doe or Juan dela Cruz here in the Philippines … this is not a political forum, they bore me to tears. Thanks.
@ john M. … Wow, thanks for sharing that with us John. It's not easy to tell such stories when they happen to you. For what it;'s worth, for those Americans reading this and syaing ha ha I'm glad I'm in the States, that can't happen to me … in many states police and other law enforcement officials are protected by similar 'assualt' laws. You don't necessarily have to punch somebody to be in trouble for assault.
A guy I know in Colorado have an issue with a certain deputy sheriff. One day he gave the deputy a 'one digit salute' as they passed on the street.. The deputy arrested him on an assult charge. The judge gave my friend a $500 fine, 15 days community service (washing and polishing Sheriff department vehicles … how cute was that?) and a piece of advice: "Next time you wave at a peace officer in my county, you use _all_ your fingers". Stuff happens.
@ Bob … Thaks for the kind words. Oh yes, the Euro Generals. How I wish …. LoL
@ John in Austria … yes indeed. the real point that many are misisng … and what surpised me … is how the libel and slander laws are in the criminal code rather thna the civil code. Nobody wants to get sued, but if you go to jail too I feel things just got a lot worse 😉 You are absolutley right with the hiya advice. You can argue all you want … it's a common human pastime … but just leave the other guy a way to save face. And never bring up things like ancestry … that's a prime issue. Even a bote boy collecting bottles has a family and he has theright to have them respected and to be respected in front of them … even if he has holes in his clothes and a sack on his back.
@ dans. Thanks for your comment. that's why I even put links to both our country's constitution. I did _not_ say there is no free speech here in the Philippines … my focus is that to an American and to a Filipino the way those constitutional guarantees work may be very different.
And are things much better thna under Martial Law days? Indeed they are, and for that we can be grateful … but a foreigner, especially in an online situation where his words are seen by many and where they live on forever .. would still be well advised to tread more lightly thna he might at first wish to.
Hi Dave, very informative and necessary post. Long time ago I published a post regarding the same topic. I think, it was one of my first posts here for LiP. "Watch your mouth" is really important, if one deals with Filipinos. If one voices out wrong at the wrong time, one might lights "war"… .
Essentially, there just cannot possibly be a better solution to moving & living in the Philippines than ensuring one becomes as "well connected" as possible after arriving. The cultural mores throughout the world vary greatly, and in order for one to navigate those treachurous waters, one must make sure there's an excellent compass (this blog article, and those of that ilk), and most importantly, a good sailmaker (your political connections in that country). The Philippines isn't that much different from most 3rd world countries – it's not what you do, or what you say – it's who you know (and who you've paid off). Cynical ? No doubt. Real ? Absolutely real. When in doubt about the strength of those connections, WATCH YOUR MOUTH !
Hi klaus, thanks for stopping by and for commenting. Indeed it is funny how upsettingthis issue is to some … all you really have to do is literally mind your manners … but this seems to be a very old skill … not so popular in today's world I guess. Sometimes my age shows 😉
When I lived in Germany, a country where you essntially write your own parking ticket … you put a clock on your dash to show the traffic warden when you parked … I forgot to set and show my clock so I got a ticket. Went to the police staion and paid my fine … in and out in five mibutes. A freind got in the same trouble a few weeks later. Went to the police station ans started telling all wihtin the sound of his voice what he thought of Germany, the parking system, the enforcers and everything else that hasd made him mad for the past year. Eventually he cursed at a police officer. Guess he forgot that they have to pass a test in English competency ;-). The military police got him out next morning. All over a silly 10 Mark parking ticket. Senseless.
Hi Spencer, thanks for visiitng and commenting. It is so true that you need a 'support base' of local freinds. don't know what it is but many Westerners .. fellow Americans in particular, perhaps because so many of us seem to think the USA is the 'only country' in the world or some such … only want to live near, associate with and deal with other expats.
First you miss enjoying the experince, second you often wind up doingthings the hard way, because want do I …or any other foreigner really, really 'know' about what's going on, and as you point out, most importantly you have no one to help you or vouch for you when there's an issue.
I will say that apparently I have been extremely lucky regarding 'bribes', or else the idea that everyone wants a bribe is just a bit too overblown … I haven't been asked for much and don't expect to pay much … maybe if I build a house or some other large project my views will change.
Hi Dave, great story from Germany… Yeah, I must agree with you. Senseless…
Good Day!
A very interesting article, Dave! Your insights reminded me of a “libel” incident in our company a few years ago. I was a member of a Grievance Committee in our company’s Labour-Management Cooperation Council which was sort of like an arbitration party that hears grievances from the labour side. In one “case” we had a male employee who was referring to another male employee as “Bakulaw” (Gorilla or Ape in English) in his IP messages which were broadcast to employees throughout the company! The libelled person (well, indeed he was a bit shaggy, dark-skinned with a large frame) of course, summoned our committee and insisted that the libeller be subject to immediate disciplinary action. We talked to them, one after another, hearing their sides, and eventually had both parties face each other in our meeting. The libeller denied the allegations and was obviously lying. We recommended that he be issued a written warning and reprimand but he never “made-up” with the other employee nor did he offer any apology. A few months later, he resigned after “attacking” the management.
In another instance, a couple of weeks ago, on my way to the office, I have encountered a most irritable taxi driver ever (he's rather young), and when I went out of the cab, I almost wanted to tell him in his face that he was an absolute “A—-le!” (in Tagalog) but I restrained myself knowing that in the end, what good will it do anyway? “I would never stoop so low!” I just told myself.
Constitution or no constitution, in my opinion, we should not totally depend on the law in order to have the liberty of trying to say everything we want to say, especially if offensive to other entities. After all, human law is imperfect and very subjective. In the tabloids, there are already more than enough “War of the Words” in my opinion. And I’m not surprised if the offended party, issues a libel. Just take the case of our First Gentleman for example. And it’s fairly common in Philippine Showbiz as well-libel here, libel there. (The Guiterrez actors clan just won a multi-million peso libel suit against Christy Fermin, the showbiz writer-host known for her “fiery” remarks about local celebrities.)
In YouTube, you could often read comments like: “Are you serious? That’s totally @#$! Why don’t you get yourself killed, huh?!” I’m not even sure if this is a “norm”. I know it’s for amusement, but on second thought, do they really mean it? Most of the time, I don’t even bother commenting in such public sites, even in anonymity because honestly I fear it may backfire at me and eventually exchanging heated words with some stranger may not just end. I’m just careful with the words in the first place, though, in case I really want to comment about a video.
One more thing, if there is one time if we should be watching our words with utmost care would be when there are children around. Several years back, I met a 5 year-old boy who could already utter the word “S—t!” in front of people, kids and adults alike. I was kinda shocked upon hearing him talk like that.
Back in high school, I remember my teacher quoted Jesus Christ as saying: “What makes a man filthy is not what he takes into his mouth, but what comes out of it!” I hope I have watched my words enough as not to offend anyone. 🙂 Again, thanks for your insights on this rather sensitive issue! I’m sure our foreign friends and guests could appreciate your advice. Cheers!
Very good advice Dave. Two thumps up for your article. It really help big to the Expats that live or visit here.
@ JR … thabnks for another of your valuable comments. Indeed with email and other online services it's even more important to be a bit more moderate in our tone. Once you put the pixels on the screen and hit 'send' its there to haunt you in perpetuity.
@ Feyma … thanks for dropping by and for your comments … I'm always honored when the 'real' CEO comes by for a visit 😉