Constitutional Rights of the Non-Religious in the Philippines
If someone threatens you in the Philippines because you are an atheist, freethinkers, agnostics, or non-believers, their behavior is illegal and punishable by criminal law . Because the Philippines does not have a single, standalone "Hate Crime Act" or a finalized "Anti-Discrimination Law" that explicitly labels atheism, the state prosecutes these actions using the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and the Cybercrime Prevention Act . The specific law that applies depends entirely on how the threat was made: 1. If They Threaten Physical Harm or Death If someone threatens to kill you, hurt you, or destroy your property because of your beliefs, they can be charged with Grave Threats under Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code . The Penalty: If they demand money or a condition (e.g., "Change your beliefs or I will hurt you" ), the penalty is severe and tied to the crime they threatened. If they just threaten you without a condition, they face a jail term ( arrest...