Supreme Court rules that chat logs, videos may be used as evidence in criminal case
Chat logs and videos can be used as evidence in court and their usage does not violate a person's right to privacy if they are used to determine if a crime was committed, the Supreme Court said.
This came after the high court’s Second Division upheld its decision on the case of Eul Vincent O. Rodriguez, who engaged in human trafficking using Facebook and other online platforms.
The Supreme Court reiterated that using online chat logs and videos as evidence does not violate the right to privacy if they are used to determine if a crime has been committed.
— Philippine Supreme Court Public Information Office (@SCPh_PIO) December 3, 2024
The Court upheld the conviction of a man for qualified trafficking in persons under Republic Act No.… pic.twitter.com/eRw6G53rR3
The ruling convicted Rodriguez of qualified trafficking in persons under Republic Act No. (RA) 9208, or the Anti-Trafficking of Persons Act of 2003.
According to SC, the Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force of Region 7 began investigating Rodriguez after receiving a tip from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
During the entrapment operation, Police Officer 3 Jerry Gambi used a decoy account to communicate with Rodriguez. PO3 Gambi recorded their correspondence, including the offer of nude shows in exchange for money involving Rodriguez's minor cousins.
Rodriguez then accepted marked money from the foreigner posing as “Kyle Edwards,” who was an undercover confidential informant of the Task Force. Upon Rodriguez’s acceptance of the payment, he was arrested, sentenced to life imprisonment, and fined P2 million.
He was also ordered to pay P600,000 in damages, with legal interest of 6% per annum from the finality of judgment until complete payment.
Chat logs and videos as evidence
The decision, written by Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez, said that the videos and recordings of the chat logs of Rodriguez’s conversations with PO3 Gambi during the entrapment operation can be admitted as evidence. RA No. 10173, or the Data Privacy Act of 2012, "allows the processing of sensitive personal information to determine a person’s criminal liability and to protect the rights and interests of persons in court proceedings."
Hence, SC rejected Rodriguez’s arguments that they were inadmissible for violating his privacy rights as the chat logs and videos were submitted as evidence to assess Rodriguez's criminal liability for qualified trafficking, Thus, his right to privacy was not violated.
