MANILA, Philippines – Data obtained from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Cybercrime (OOC) show that a total of 3,809 cyber libel cases have been filed since RA 10175 was signed into law last September 2012.
A majority of cases have either been dismissed (1,198) or currently filed in court (1,159), according to the data. Other cases are in different stages of investigation, from being under preliminary investigation, cases resolved outside of the court, and acquittal.
Cases that are archived are caused by person/s involved not being located, thus proceedings are not able to continue. Cases that are dropped or withdrawn are often at court-level proceedings, according to OOC Investigation Agent Christian Ibasco.
Compared to data gathered last May 2022, there has been a 1,550% increase of cases that have been resolved as of November. Cases seem to be processed faster compared to the number of cases being filed, with a 12% reduction of cases filed in court. Conviction rates continue to be negligible, from 0.32% in May 2022 to 0.47% in November 2022. (READ: Decriminalize libel: PH junked one-third of cyber libel cases filed since 2012)
The graph below compares the statuses of cyber libel cases from May 2022 and November 2022. Get a better visualization of each status by choosing from the drop-down menu.
The latest data breaks down the case statuses of cyber libel per region. The Central Visayas region has the most number of cases filed (176), while the Bicol region has the most convictions (5) and highest conviction rates (2.8%).
Metro Manila lays claim to the highest number of cases dismissed (243), dropped or withdrawn (35), under preliminary investigation (213), and resolved (84).
Below is a line graph visualization of the statuses ..
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