Intentionally threatening gestures are criminal, says high court

The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that threatening gestures can constitute the crime of grave threats under the Revised Penal Code, even if no words are spoken or written, provided criminal intent is proven.

The ruling was detailed in a decision penned by Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa. The high court’s Third Division clarified the legal principle while simultaneously acquitting Gregory Israel of grave threats, finding that prosecutors failed to sufficiently prove criminal intent when he allegedly simulated shooting and beheading two former businss partners.

The case originated from a dispute involving Israel, who claimed to be a Belgian architect authorized to practice in the Philippines. He had been hired by Belgian business partners Christine Helena Amanda Navez and Olivier Edmund Denonville to construct a building.

After discovering structural defects that were later verified by a civil engineer, the partners filed a civil lawsuit for damages when Israel allegedly refused to rectify the issues.

Tensions escalated in 2017 when Navez and Denonville nearly collided with Israel’s motorcycle while driving home from the airport.

The complainants alleged that Israel responded by pointing his fingers at Navez to simulate firing a gun, and then drawing his fingers across his neck to signal a decapitation.

Lower courts, including the Municipal Circuit Trial Court and the Regional Trial Court, convicted Israel of grave threats. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction, ruling that the gestures could only be interpreted as intimidation.

Israel appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code does not cover purely non-verbal acts and that he had no intent to intimidate the complainants.