Secret recording sa phone, labag sa batas, 'di puwedeng ebidensya

ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta @Magtanong Kay Attorney | May 25, 2023

Dear Chief Acosta,

Maaari ko bang gawing ebidensya ang secret recording sa aking cellphone na naglalaman ng pag-uusap namin ng aking dating kasintahan, kung saan inamin niya na siya ang nagnakaw ng wallet ng dating officemate ko sa loob ng aming opisina? – Weng

Dear Weng,

Para sa iyong kaalaman, ang tinatalakay sa Section 1 ng Republic Act No. 4200, o ang “Anti-wiretapping law,” ang batas na naaangkop sa iyong sitwasyon. Ayon sa nasabing batas:

“Sec. 1. It shall be unlawful for any person, not being authorized by all the parties to any private communication or spoken word, to tap any wire or cable, or by using any other device or arrangement, to secretly overhear, intercept, or record such communication or spoken word by using a device commonly known as a dictaphone or dictagraph or dectaphone or walkie-talkie or tape recorder, or however otherwise described.

It shall also be unlawful for any person, be he a participant or not in the act or acts penalized in the next preceding sentence, to knowingly possess any tape record, wire record, disc record, or any other such record, or copies thereof, of any communication or spoken word secured either before or after the effective date of this Act in the manner prohibited by this law; or to replay the same for any other person or persons; or to communicate the contents thereof, either verbally or in writing, or to furnish transcriptions thereof, whether complete or partial, to any other person: Provided, That the use of such record or any copies thereof as evidence in any civil, criminal investigation or trial of offenses mentioned in section 3 hereof, shall not be covered by this prohibition.”

Sinasabi ng probisyon na ito na hindi mo maaaring gamitin na ebidensya ang nasabing recording, sapagkat ito ay walang pahintulot ng lahat ng mga partido sa nasabing usapan.

Bukod pa rito, ang iyong ginawang recording ay labag sa batas, sapagkat ito ay hindi pinayagan ng iyong dating kasintahan na isang partido sa naturang usapan. Ang paggamit nito ay may kaukulang parusa na isinasaad sa Section 2 ng nasabi pa ring batas:

“Sec. 2. Any person who wilfully or knowingly does or who shall aid, permit, or cause to be done any of the acts declared to be unlawful in the preceding section or who violates the provisions of the following section or of any order issued thereunder, or aids, permits, or causes such violation shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than six months or more than six years and with the accessory penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification from public office if the offender be a public official at the time of the commission of the offense, and, if the offender is an alien he shall be subject to deportation proceedings.”

Sana ay nabigyan namin ng linaw ang inyong katanungan. Ang payong aming ibinigay ay base lamang sa mga impormasyon na inyong inilahad at maaaring magbago kung mababawasan o madaragdagan ang mga detalye ng inyong salaysay.

Maraming salamat sa inyong patuloy na pagtitiwala.