Republic Act No. 4661

An Act Shortening the Prescriptive Period for Libel and Other Similar Offenses, Amending for the Purpose Article Ninety of the Revised Penal Code

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippine Congress Assembled:

Section 1. Article ninety of the Revised Penal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Art. 90. Prescription of crimes.— Crimes punishable by death, reclusion perpetua or reclusion temporal shall prescribe in twenty years.

"Crimes punishable by other afflictive penalties shall prescribe in fifteen years.

"Those punishable by a correctional penalty shall prescribe in ten years; with the exception of those punishable by arresto mayor, which shall prescribe in five years.

"The crime of libel or other similar offenses shall prescribe in one year.

"The offenses of oral defamation and slander by deed shall prescribe in six months."Light offenses prescribe in two months.

"When the penalty fixed by law is a compound one, the highest penalty shall be made the basis of the application of the rules contained in the first, second and third paragraphs of this article."

Section 2. The provision of this amendatory Act shall not apply to cases of libel already filed in court at the time of approval of this amendatory Act.

Section 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 18, 1966.