Republic Act No. 4661

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

• Article 90  Prescription of crimes.

  Crimes punishable by death, reclusión perpetua or reclusión 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.

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.

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.