Article 89.
How criminal liability is totally previously charged but on other
extinguished. - Criminal liability is totally
extinguished:
1. By the death of the convict, as to
the personal penalties and as to
pecuniary penalties, liability therefor is
extinguished only when the death of
the offender occurs before final
judgment.
2. By service of the sentence;
3. By amnesty, which completely
extinguishes the penalty and all its
effects;
4. By absolute pardon;
5. By prescription of the crime;
6. By prescription of the penalty;
7. By the marriage of the offended
woman, as provided in Article 344 of
this Code.
 Extinction of criminal liability does
not automatically extinguish the civil
liability
 Causes of extinction – arise after
the commission of the offense.
 Causes of justification or
exemption – arise from
circumstances existing either before
the commission of the crime or at
the moment of its commission
 Ground for motion to quash
 Civil liability is extinguished when
death occurs before final judgment
 Final judgment – after the laps of the
period for perfecting an appeal or
when the sentence has been
partially or totally served
 Death – pending appeal – extinguish
his criminal and civil liability -------
exception: predicated on a source of
obligation other than delict such as
law (physical injuries), contracts
(estafa), quasi-contracts, and quasi
delicts
 If the offended party, upon
extinction, of the civil liability ex
delicto, desires to recover damages
from the same act or omission
complained of, he must
File a separate civil action, this time
predicated not on the felony
sources of obligation.
 Death of the offended party does
not extinguish the criminal liability of
the offender – against the state
 By service of sentence – crime is a
debt
 Amnesty – an act of the sovereign
power granting oblivion or a general
pardon for a past offense, and is
rarely, if ever, exercised in favour of
a single individual, and is usually
exerted in behalf of certain classes
of persons, who are subject to trial
but not yet been convicted.
 Amnesty completely extinguishes
the penalty and all its effects
 Amnesty may be granted after
conviction
 Civil liability not extinguished by
amnesty
 Pardon – an act of grace proceeding
from the power entrusted with the
execution of the laws which exempts
the individual on whom it is
bestowed from the punishment of
the law inflicts for the crime he has
committed.
 Prescription of a crime – is the
forfeiture or loss of the right of the
state to prosecute the offender after
the lapse of a certain time.
 Prescription of a penalty – is the loss
or forfeiture of the right execute the
final sentence after the lapse of the
government to execute the final
sentence after the lapse of a certain
time.
 Conditions necessary in prescription
of penalty:
o That there be final judgment
o That the period of time
prescribed by law for its
enforcement has elapsed.
AMNESTY VS PARDON
– see page 843
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).
 In computing the period of
prescription, the first day is to be
excluded and the last day included
 Falls on Sunday or legal holiday –
can no longer be filed on the next
day
 Oral defamation by deed – simple
slander: 2 months; grave slander: 6
months
 Arresto menor or light felonies – 2
months
 Attempted bribery – distierro – 10
years – correctional penalty
 Fines – afflictive: 15 years;
correctional: 10 years; light: 2
months
 When penalty is compound, the
highest penalty is the basis of the
application
 When fine is alternative penalty
higher than the other penalty which
is by imprisonment, prescription of
the crime is based on the fine
 Prescriptive periods of offenses
punished under special laws and
municipal ordinances – see page
849
 Prescription of violations penalized
by special laws and ordinances –
begin to run from the day of the
commission of the violation
 When interrupted – when
proceedings are instituted against
the guilty person, and shall begin to
run again if the proceedings are
dismissed for reasons not
constituting jeopardy.
 Defense of prescription may be
raised during the trial or during the
appeal
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.
The term of prescription shall not run when
the offender is absent from the Philippine
Archipelago.
 From the date of the commission – if
known
 From the date of discovery – if the
commission is unknown
 Discovery of the crime, not the
discovery of offender
 Period of prescription of continuing
crime never runs
 The crime is discovered by 1)
offended party 2) authorities 3) agents
 Period of prescription was interrupted
when preliminary examination was
made by municipal mayor but accused
could not be arrested because he was
hiding
 Filing of the complaint with the
prosecutor’s office interrupts running
of period of prescription of the offense
charged.
 Proceedings terminate without the
accused being convicted or acquitted
– commenced to run again
 Unjustifiably stopped for any reason
not imputable to him – if imputable:
does not commence to run again
 The term of prescription does not run
when the offender is absent from the
Philippines
 Prescription of election offenses – 1) if
discovery of offense is incidental to
judicial proceedings, prescription
begins when such proceeding
terminates; otherwise, 2) from the date
of the commission of the offense
Article 92. When and how penalties
prescribe. - 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.
 The penalties must be imposed by
final sentence
 Prescription of crimes – penalty
prescribed by law that should be
considered
 Prescription of penalties – penalty
imposed that should be considered
Article 93. Computation of the
prescription of penalties. - 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.
Elements:
1. That the penalty is imposed by final
sentence;
2. That the convict evaded the service of
the sentence by escaping during the
term of his sentence;
3. That the convict who escaped from
prison has not given himself up, or
been captured, or gone to a foreign
country with which we have no
extradition treaty or committed another
crime;
4. That the penalty has prescribed,
because of the lapse of time from the
date of the evasion of the service of
the sentence by the convict.
 Evasion of the service of the sentence
is an essential element of prescription
of penalties
 Period of prescription that ran during
the time the convict evaded service of
sentence is not forfeited upon his
capture.
 Acceptance of conditional pardon
interrupts the prescriptive period
Chapter Two
PARTIAL EXTINCTION OF CRIMINAL
LIABILITY
Article 94. Partial Extinction of criminal
liability. - Criminal liability is extinguished
partially:
1. By conditional pardon;
2. By commutation of the sentence;
and
3. For good conduct allowances which
the culprit may earn while he is
serving his sentence.
 Conditional Pardon – a contract
between the sovereign power of the
executive and the convict that the
former will release the latter upon
compliance with the condition
 Ususal: he shall not again violate
any of the penal laws of the
Philippines
 Commutation is provided when:
o The convict sentenced to
death is over 70 years of age
o 8 justices of the supreme
court fail to reach a decision
for the affirmance of death
penalty
 Parole – suspension of the sentence
of a convict after serving the
minimum term of the indeterminate
penalty
 Conditional pardon VS Parole:
o CP – be given at any time
after final judgment; P – be
given after serving the
minimum penalty
o CP – for violation, be ordered
rearrested or reincarnated by
Chief Executive; P – cannot
be prosecuted, serve the
unserved portion of his
penalty
Article 95. Obligation incurred by person
granted conditional pardon. - Any person who
has been granted conditional pardon shall
incur the obligation of complying strictly with
the conditions imposed therein otherwise, his
non-compliance with any of the conditions
specified shall result in the revocation of the
pardon and the provisions of Article 159 shall
be applied to him.
Article 96. Effect of commutation of
sentence. - The commutation of the original
sentence for another of a different length and
nature shall have the legal effect of
substituting the latter in the place of the
former.
Article 97. Allowance for good conduct. - The
good conduct of any prisoner in any penal
institution shall entitle him to the following
deductions from the period of his sentence:
 1. During the first two years of his 2) reparation of the damage
imprisonment, he shall be allowed a caused
deduction of five days for each month 3) indemnification for
of good behavior; consequential damages
 if there is no damage caused by the
2. During the third to the fifth year,
inclusive, of his imprisonment, he shall commission of the crime, not civilly
be allowed a deduction of eight days liable
for each month of good behavior;

3. During the following years until the

tenth year, inclusive, of his
imprisonment, he shall be allowed a
deduction of ten days for each month
of good behavior; and

4. During the eleventh and successive

years of his imprisonment, he shall be
allowed a deduction of fifteen days for
each month of good behaviour.

 No allowance of good conduct while

prisoner is released under
conditional pardon

Article 98. Special time allowance for

loyalty. - A deduction of one-fifth of the period
of his sentence shall be granted to any
prisoner who, having evaded the service of his
sentence under the circumstances mentioned
in Article 158 of this Code, gives himself up to
the authorities within 48 hours following the
issuance of a proclamation announcing the
passing away of the calamity or catastrophe to
in said article.

 the deduction of 1/5 is based on the

original sentence, not the unexpired
portion
 conflagration, earthquake, explosion
or similar catastrophe

Article 99. Who grants time allowances. -

Whenever lawfully justified, the Director of
Prisons shall grant allowances for good
conduct. Such allowances once granted shall
not be revoked.

Title Five

CIVIL LIABILITY

Chapter One
PERSON CIVILLY LIABLE FOR FELONIES

Article 100. Civil liability of a person guilty of

felony. - Every person criminally liable for a
felony is also civilly liable.

Civil liability includes

1) restitution