Incident
Philippines: United States colonial government's libel law is used to close the newspaper El Renacimiento
The United States colonial government in the Philippines enacted a criminal libel law in 1901 that Governor-General William Howard Taft defended by saying Filipinos were unused to the freedom of the press. The law was used in 1908 to convict the editors and publisher of the pro-independence newspaper El Renacimiento over an editorial criticizing colonial officials, and the resulting fine forced the paper to close.123
What happened
In 1901, the Philippine Commission, the American-appointed body governing the Philippine Islands, enacted Act No. 277, a law criminalizing libel, while the colonial government was led by future President William Howard Taft. Taft said the law was necessary because Filipinos were, in his words, a strange people unused to the freedom of the press. The law was later used against the pro-independence newspaper El Renacimiento, which in 1908 published an editorial describing an eagle as the most rapacious bird of prey and accusing unnamed colonial officials of having the characteristics of the vulture, the owl and the vampire. Although the editorial did not name him, Dean C. Worcester, the Secretary of the Interior, filed a libel suit that resulted in the conviction of the paper's editor Fidel Reyes, co-editor Teodoro M. Kalaw and publisher Martin Ocampo. Kalaw and Ocampo's appeals to the Philippine Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court failed to overturn the conviction. Ocampo paid a fine of 100,000 pesos, which forced El Renacimiento and its sister paper Muling Pagsilang to stop publishing.14256783
What reason was given
Stated justificationGovernor-General William Howard Taft said the libel law was necessary because Filipinos were a strange people unused to the freedom of the press.4
What changed for reporting
The conviction and a 100,000 peso fine forced El Renacimiento and its sister paper Muling Pagsilang to stop publishing, ending the pro-independence paper's run.57
Timeline
1901
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Dean C. Worcester | enforced | Secretary of the Interior, Philippine Islands |
| William Howard Taft | legislated | Governor-General of the Philippine Islands |
Outlets and journalists
| Name | Kind | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| El Renacimiento | outlet | affected |
| Muling Pagsilang | outlet | affected |
Sources
Claims and evidence
Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.
- The Philippine Commission enacted Act No. 277, a law criminalizing libel, which was later used against the nationalist press.
Act No. 277 criminalizing libel passed the US’ Philippine Commission and was used to bully the nationalist press.
A relic of colonial rule, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, 2014-02-24.Claim 970, checked 2026-09-26. - El Renacimiento's 1908 editorial described colonial officials as birds of prey, comparing them to eagles, vultures, owls and vampires.
El Renacimiento described “the eagle” as the “most rapacious” bird of prey, and criticized certain US colonial government officials “who, besides being eagles, have the characteristics of the vulture, the owl, and the vampire.”
A relic of colonial rule, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, 2014-02-24.Claim 972, checked 2026-09-26. - The colonial government the United States established in the Philippines in 1900 was led by future President William Howard Taft.
the colonial government that the United States established in the Philippines in 1900 under future President William Howard Taft launched a pacification campaign that became known as the “policy of attraction.”
The Philippine-American War, 1899-1902, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian.Claim 977, checked 2026-09-26. - Governor-General William Howard Taft justified the libel law's passage by saying Filipinos were a strange people unused to the freedom of the press.
Governor General William Howard Taft justified its passage by saying that Filipinos are “a strange people unused to the freedom of the press.”
A relic of colonial rule, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, 2014-02-24.Claim 971, checked 2026-09-26. - Secretary of the Interior Dean C. Worcester filed the libel suit that led to the conviction of El Renacimiento's editor Fidel Reyes, co-editor Teodoro M. Kalaw and publisher Martin Ocampo.
Although the paper did not name him, Worcester filed a libel suit which resulted in the conviction of Fidel Reyes, who wrote the editorial, his co-editor Teodoro M. Kalaw, and publisher Martin Ocampo.
A relic of colonial rule, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, 2014-02-24.Claim 973, checked 2026-09-26. - Kalaw and Ocampo's appeals to the Philippine Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court failed, and their conviction was affirmed in both courts.
Kalaw and Ocampo appealed the decision before the Philippine Supreme Court and later, the US Supreme Court, but their conviction was affirmed in both.
A relic of colonial rule, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, 2014-02-24.Claim 974, checked 2026-09-26. - Ocampo's 100,000 peso fine crippled El Renacimiento and its sister paper Muling Pagsilang, and both stopped publishing.
Ocampo had to pay the then huge amount of P100,000 in fines, which so crippled the paper and its sister newspaper Muling Pagsilang both ceased publication.
A relic of colonial rule, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, 2014-02-24.Claim 975, checked 2026-09-26. - Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison pardoned Ocampo in 1914, after the fine had already closed the paper.
Although pardoned by then US Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison in 1914,
A relic of colonial rule, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, 2014-02-24.Claim 976, checked 2026-09-26.