Poisonous fruit

Dear Atty. Maan,

My sister recently found out that her husband is cheating on her. She discovered the affair when she logged into his Facebook Messenger account, of which she knew the password. My question is, can she use the screenshots of messages containing his illicit affair if she decides to file an appropriate legal action against him?

Liza

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Dear Liza,

In the case of Christian Cadajas y Cabias v. People of the Philippines, G.R. 247348; 16 November 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that leaked screenshots of a messenger thread presented in Court may be admitted as evidence as under constitutional protections, the privacy of communications is inviolable except by court order or matters of public safety. However, these protections are generally aimed at preventing government intrusions, not those between private individuals.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the right to privacy is expressly recognized under Article III, Sec. 3 thereof, which reads:

SECTION 3. (1) The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be inviolable except upon lawful order of the court, or when public safety or order requires otherwise as prescribed by law.

(2) Any evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding section shall be inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding.

While the above provision highlights the importance of the right to privacy and its consequent effect on the rules on admissibility of evidence, one must not lose sight of the fact that the Bill of Rights was intended to protect private individuals against government intrusions. Hence, its provisions are not applicable between and amongst private individuals.

In this case, the photographs and conversations in the Facebook Messenger account that were obtained and used as evidence against petitioner, which he considers as fruit of the poisonous tree, were not obtained through the efforts of the police officers or any agent of the State. Rather, these were obtained by a private individual. Indeed, the rule governing the admissibility of an evidence under Article III of the Constitution must affect only those pieces of evidence obtained by the State through its agents. It is these individuals who can flex government muscles and use government resources for a possible abuse. However, where private individuals are involved, for which their relationship is governed by the New Civil Code, the admissibility of an evidence cannot be determined by the provisions of the Bill of Rights.

Hope this helps.

Atty. Mary Antonnette Baudi