Case Digest (G.R. No. 258524)
Facts:
Berteni Cataluna Causing v. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 258524, October 11, 2023, Supreme Court Third Division, Inting, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Berteni Cataluna Causing (Causing) was charged by complaint-affidavit filed December 16, 2020 by Representative Ferdinand L. Hernandez with two counts of cyber libel under Section 4(c)(4) of R.A. No. 10175 in relation to Articles 353 and 355 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) for Facebook posts allegedly uploaded on February 4, 2019 and April 29, 2019 that imputed theft of relief funds.
After the Office of the City Prosecutor of Quezon City found probable cause, two Informations were filed in the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Quezon City, Branch 93, docketed as Criminal Cases Nos. R‑QZN‑21‑04099 and R‑QZN‑21‑04100. On June 28, 2021 Causing filed a Motion to Quash asserting prescription, arguing Cyber Libel is not a new crime but an application of RPC libel and thus prescribes under paragraph 4, Article 90 (one year) rather than under Act No. 3326 (12 years) or paragraph 2, Article 90 (15 years). He also contested the precedential weight of Tolentino (G.R. No. 240310).
In an Order dated October 5, 2021, the RTC denied the Motion to Quash, reasoning that RA 10175 refers to libel but penalizes it under the special law and that, in any event, Section 6 of RA 10175 increases the penalty by one degree such that paragraph 2, Article 90 (15 years) applies; the RTC set arraignment for November 24, 2021. The RTC likewise denied reconsideration in an Order dated November 15, 2021. Causing filed a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court seeking annulment of those RTC orders.
The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed a Comment arguing the petition was an improper remedy but defending the RTC's prescriptions analysis and T...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Is a Rule 65 petition a proper remedy from the RTC’s denial of Causing’s Motion to Quash and was direct resort to the Supreme Court proper?
- Does prescription of Cyber Libel follow Article 90 (and Article 91) of the RPC or Section 1 of Act No. 3326 (as applied by the RTC)?
- Have the two counts of Cyber Libel ag...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
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Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)