R. G. No. 39196 - Pueblo de las Islas Filipinas vs. Stanley J. Willimont

The appellant, Stanley J. Willimont, was involved in an altercation at the intersection of Ayala Boulevard and Avenida Taft.
The incident occurred in the morning when Willimont encountered Policeman Leon Somera, who was in charge of traffic.

Willimont believed that Policeman Somera was negligent in the performance of his duties.
He informed the policeman that he would report the officer's negligence to his superior.
After his initial communication, Willimont left the scene, only to return a few minutes later.

Upon his return, Willimont directed the following words at Policeman Somera: "What a hell you are, you are a monkey traffic cop."
These words were spoken in a private confrontation, with only the appellant and the policeman present; no other witnesses were reported.

Willimont was charged in the Manila Municipal Court for violating Article 358 of the Revised Penal Code, which penalizes oral defamation.
He was convicted and fined P10, along with the imposition of court costs.
The appellant appealed the decision, and the Manila First Instance Court confirmed the judgment of the Municipal Court.

Willimont contended that Article 358 of the Revised Penal Code, which covers defamatory utterances, requires an element of publicity (i.e., that the defamatory statement be communicated to persons other than the offender and the offended).
He argued that since his remark was made privately before only the officer and himself, the statutory requirement of publicity was not met, and therefore the provision should not apply.

Whether the utterance of the disputed defamatory words, made in a private setting with only the officer present, satisfies the element of "publicity" required under Article 358 of the Revised Penal Code.
Whether the absence of additional witnesses or public dissemination of the remark exempts the conduct from constituting the crime of oral defamation.
Whether the strict interpretation of the defamation statute mandates that even a solely private defamatory remark, without any public exposure, can be penalized.