7/21/2019 Brillante vs CA Digest

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ROBERTO BRILLANTE vs. COURT OF APPEALS and THE PEOPLE OF THE

PHILIPPINES

G.R. Nos. 118757 & 121571 October 19, 2004

TINGA, J. 

Facts

Roberto Brillante, then a candidate for the position of councillor in Makati City held a presconference where he accused Jejomar Binay, a candidate for mayoralty in Makati, and Nemesio

Prudente of plotting an assassination plot against Augusto Syjuco, another mayoral candidate in

Makati. Several journalists wrote articles regarding the same and an open letter was published aswell. Later, Binay and Prudente both filed libel charges against Brillante. The trial court found

Brillante guilty of four counts of libel, which decision the CA affirmed.

IssueWhether or not the act of libel charged against petitioner has prescribed when the Information

was filed before the trial court

Ruling No. Article 90 of the Revised Penal Code provides that the crime of libel shall prescribe within

one year. In determining when the one year prescriptive period should be reckoned, reference

must be made to Article 91 of the same code which sets forth the rule on the computation of prescriptive periods of offenses which states that period of prescription shall be interrupted by

the filing of the complaint or information. In the case, a proceeding in the Fiscal's Office may

terminate without conviction or acquittal.