Dear PAO,

I am a budding writer who dreams of one day becoming an editor. I would like to know more about libel and the possible implications on the part of an editor if, for example, a writer is absolved of the charge of libel against him/her. Will acquittal of the editor follow? Will the defense of non-participation by the editor, alleging that it was the writer, not the former, who actually wrote the piece, prosper?

Chelsea

Dear Chelsea,

The questions you posed are timely as the topic was discussed by the Supreme Court in a recently pronounced decision written by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen. Before delving into details, let us first define the crime of Libel under the Revised Penal Code: