Question of Law: Offending Religious Feelings

SUN STAR | DAVAO
By Kelvin Lee

PHILIPPINES---I read in the news that a famous tour guide in Manila was recently convicted for the crime of Offending Religious Feelings. This stemmed from an incident where the tour guide went into a famous church in Manila and brandished a sign which said "Damaso," in order to advocate for the Reproductive Health Bill (RH Bill) and to protest the Catholic Church's involvement in government affairs. You will recall from your history lessons that Damaso is the name of a Spanish Friar who was an antagonist in Jose Rizal's novel, Noli Me Tangere. As a result, the tour guide's actions upset a number of religious and faithful people. A case was soon filed before the Office of the Prosecutor for Offending Religious Feelings under the Revised Penal Code. In short, the Revised Penal Code makes it a crime to "perform acts notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful" while "in a place devoted to religious worship." [link]