De Lima pushes to repeal law vs. 'offending religious feelings'

Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has filed a measure seeking to repeal a provision in the Revised Penal Code (RPC) that punishes the crime of "offending religious feelings" through words and actions.

In filing Senate Bill (SB) No. 628, De Lima pointed out that that the archaic Article 133 of RPC could violate an individual's Constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression.

"Freedom of expression, which is a fundamental human right, is indispensable in any democratic society," she said.

"The archaic Article 133 also violates the Constitution's non-establishment clause and is already obsolete. It is no longer necessary," she added.

Article 133 of the RPC punishes "anyone who, in a place devoted to religious worship or during the celebration of any religious ceremony, shall perform acts notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful."

De Lima recalled the case of social activist Carlos Celdran who faced imprisonment in 2018 after the Supreme Court (SC) upheld the decision of the lower court and found him guilty of the crime of offending religious feelings.

Celdran merely sported a Jose Rizal outfit and brought out a placard with the word "Damaso" in September 2010 at an ecumenical service inside the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros to protest the clergy's stand against the Reproductive Health Bill.

"While there may be basis for an action for damages against Mr. Celdran, Article 133 of the RPC should no longer be considered a crime," De Lima maintained.

"The Office of the Solicitor General itself [s]ubmitted to the Court that Article 133 of the RPC should be declared unconstitutional since it is 'simultaneously overbroad and void for vagueness' and that it does not contain an 'objective standard and thus left [sic] judges with wide discretion over cases that may affect freedom of speech,'" she said.

Under SB No. 628, the sentence of the persons convicted for violation of the Article 133 of the RPC shall be automatically commuted and the persons serving said sentences shall be immediately released, provided that they are neither serving a prison term nor detained for any other legal cause.

De Lima, a known human rights and social justice champion, noted that the United Nations Human Rights Committee's (UNHRC) General Comment No.22, Article 18, emphasized that "freedom of thought and freedom of conscience are protected equally with the freedom of religion and belief and that these freedoms are non-derogable, even in times of public emergency."