Manila, May 15 -- Non-verbal threatening gestures with criminal intent may be considered grave threats under the Revised Penal Code (RPC), the Supreme Court (SC) said.

In a decision released Friday, the SC's Third Division acquitted "Greg" of grave threats after finding no criminal intent in his gesture of pretending to shoot and behead two individuals.

The court, however, clarified that "the crime of grave threats may be committed through non-verbal gestures and not only through spoken or written words."

Greg, who claimed to be a Belgian architect allowed to practice his profession in the Philippines, was hired by two fellow Belgians to construct their building.

The business partners later found many defects, which were later confirm...