The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that cyber libel prescribes one year from the time it is discovered, affirming its earlier interpretation and rejecting arguments seeking a longer prescriptive period.
In a resolution written by Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul Inting, the SC En Banc denied the separate motions for reconsideration filed by Berteni Cataluña Causing and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), effectively upholding its earlier ruling on the matter.
The case stemmed from a cyber libel complaint filed in December 2020 by Cotabato 2nd District Representative Ferdinand Hernandez against Causing.
The complaint was based on Facebook posts alleging that Hernandez pocketed more than P200 million worth of relief goods intended for Marawi victims.
Hernandez said he discovered the posts on 4 February and 29 April 2019.
Criminal informations were later filed before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in May 2021. Causing moved to quash the charges, arguing that the case had already prescribed under the Revised Penal Code (RPC) since more than one year had passed from the posting of the alleged defamatory content.
The RTC denied the motion, ruling that cyber libel under Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act, prescribes in 12 years.
Causing elevated the matter to the SC, which earlier clarified that cyber libel follows the one-year prescriptive period for traditional libel under the RPC, counted from discovery of the offense.
In their motions for reconsideration, both Causing and the OSG challenged the ruling. The OSG argued that cyber libel should instead be subject to a 15-year prescriptive period under the Cybercrime Prevention Act, citing prior jurisprudence.
Causing, meanwhile, insisted that prescription should run from the date of publication, not discovery, warning that the discovery rule could allow complaints to be filed years after a post is made.