Prescription period for rape

Prescription period for rape "My daughter has been abused by our neighbor, Recio, since 2010. We wanted to file a case against him but we were threatened by Recio that he will harm us should we file a case against him. For years, we kept it a secret for the reason that we’re afraid of possible consequences that Recio may inflict on us. We sought the legal advice of my friend who works in the government. He advised us that we can file for rape and/or violation of Republic Act 9262 or Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004. We, however, are not sure if the violations of law by Recio have prescribed. I would like to ask if there are prescriptive periods in filing a criminal case against the offender, and if there are, what are these? Thank you very much,Wanda Dear Wanda,Yes, the law provides for prescriptive periods in filing a criminal case against the offender. The Revised Penal Code (RPC), particularly Article 90, provides for the prescription of crimes within which the offender may be prosecuted for the crimes he has committed, to wit:“Article 90. Prescription of crime. - 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 crime 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. (As amended by RA 4661, approved June 19, 1966).” (Emphasis supplied)It may be emphasized that the period of prescription will commence to run from the day the crime is discovered by the offended party. This is also clearly enunciated in Article 91 of the RPC, to wit:“Article 91. Computation of prescription of offenses. - The period of prescription shall commence to run from the day on which the crime is discovered by the offended party, the authorities, or their agents, and shall be interrupted by the filing of the complaint or information, and shall commence to run again when such proceedings terminate without the accused being convicted or acquitted, or are unjustifiably stopped for any reason not imputable to him.” (Emphasis supplied)On the other hand, considering that you have mentioned RA 9262, which is considered a special law, allow us to explain the prescriptive period in case of violation of special laws and/or ordinances. RA 3326 or An Act to Establish Periods of Prescription for Violations Penalized by Special Acts and Municipal Ordinances and to Provide When Prescription Shall Begin to Run, specifically Section 1 provides:“Section 1. Violations penalized by special acts shall, unless otherwise provided in such acts, prescribe in accordance with the following rules: (a) after a year for offenses punished only by a fine or by imprisonment for not more than one month, or both (b) after four years for those punished by imprisonment for more than one month, but less than two years (c) after eight years for those punished by imprisonment for two years or more, but less than six years and (d) after twelve years for any other offense punished by imprisonment for six years or more, except the crime of treason, which shall prescribe after twenty years. Violations penalized by municipal ordinances shall prescribe after two months.Sec. 2. Prescription shall begin to run from the day of the commission of the violation of the law, and if the same be not known at the time, from the discovery thereof and the institution of judicial proceeding for its investigation and punishment. xxx” (Emphasis supplied)Considering that the imposable penalty for rape is reclusion perpetua, the prescriptive period within which you may file the complaint is twenty (20) years from the day you discovered the incident. On the other hand, the act of Recio in threatening you and your daughter with physical harm is indeed a violation of RA 9262, particularly Section 5(b):“SECTION 5. Acts of Violence Against Women and Their Children.- The crime of violence against women and their children is committed through any of the following acts:(a) xxx(b) Threatening to cause the woman or her child physical harmxxx”Thus, the imposable penalty provided by the aforementioned law is arresto mayor, one (1) month and one (1) day to six (6) months, then the prescriptive period within which you may file a complaint for violation of RA 9262 is four (4) years from the day Recio threatened to cause you physical harm.We find it necessary to mention that this opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary when the facts are changed or elaborated.We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter." - https://www.affordablecebu.com/