Facts of the Case:

A and B, Married with children, decided to separate. During that said time of
separation, A got into a relationship with C and then decided to live together. C,
being A's paramour, became the mother of 4 children to A and continued to live
together with A in Alabang. During certain special occasions, B, together with her
children with A, would be present with A, C, and A's children with C in the same
venue. The affair of A and C, including the existence of A and C's children has been
known by B and her children for several years. After 20 years of knowledge of the
said affair and the existence of A and C's 4 children, B filed a case of Concubinage
against A and C.
Concubinage as defined by the Revised Penal Code:
Article 334:
Any husband who shall keep a mistress in the conjugal dwelling, or shall
have sexual intercourse, under scandalous circumstances, with a woman who is not
his wife, or shall cohabit with her in any other place, shall be punished by prision
correccional in its minimum and medium periods.
The concubine shall suffer the penalty of Destierro. "
Concubinage is committed by a husband in several ways:
a. by keeping a mistress in the conjugal dwelling; or
b. by having sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances with a woman
who is not his wife; or
c. by cohabiting with his mistress in any other place.
In the case at bar, the third requisite is satisfied and yields Article 334 to
be enforceable in court. However, it is only proper to take cognizance of the time
period of 20 years where B has kept knowledge of the above-mentioned affair but
failed to bring an action to court only until now. This is due to Article 90, 91, 92
and 93, provisions in the Revised Penal Code about Prescription in relation
to Article 89 - How Criminal Liability is Totally Extinguished, Under Chapter
1, Title 4, Book 1 of the Revised Penal Code. Prescription, according to Article
89 of the Revised Penal Code expressly states that Prescription of the Crime or
Penalty totally extinguishes criminal liability.
TOTAL EXTINCTION OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY by PRESCRIPTION (Revised
Penal Code)
Article 90
-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).
Article 91

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.
The term of prescription shall not run when the offender is absent from the Philippine
Archipelago.
Article 92
The penalties imposed by final sentence prescribe as follows:
1. Death and reclusion perpetua, in twenty years;
2. Other afflictive penalties, in fifteen years;
3. Correctional penalties, in ten years; with the exception of the penalty of arresto
mayor, which prescribes in five years;
4. Light penalties, in one year.
Article 93
The period of prescription of penalties shall commence to run from the date when the
culprit should evade the service of his sentence, and it shall be interrupted if the defendant
should give himself up, be captured, should go to some foreign country with which this
Government has no extradition treaty, or should commit another crime before the expiration of
the period of prescription.
Considering the facts of the instant case before us, A's criminal liability with regard to
Article 334 of the Revised Penal Code has been totally extinguished after inaction to enforce
such in court for more than 10 years since Concubinage is only punishable by Prision
Correccional. B only tried to enforce action 20 years after said time, which at that time that the
action has already prescribed. In the case of Garcia vs. CA [G.R. No. 119063. January 27,
1997], the decision of the Court of Appeals to allow the charge of Bigamy to be
quashed due to prescription was affirmed. The use of the same Provisions of the
Revised Penal Code was very similar in the application of the same to this case.

Thus, The existence of Articles 89, 90, 91, 92 and 93 of the Revised Penal Code in
relation to facts of the case at bar, renders the Total Extinction of A's Criminal Liability with
regard to Article 334 of the same Code.