The Supreme Court has upheld its earlier ruling setting the prescriptive period for cyber libel at one year from the time the offense is discovered.
In a resolution, the high court en banc denied motions for reconsideration filed by lawyer Berteni Cataluña Causing and the Office of the Solicitor General, effectively sustaining its 2023 decision.
The ruling abandoned the previously cited 15-year prescriptive period and instead aligned cyber libel with traditional libel under the Revised Penal Code.
The case stemmed from a complaint filed in 2020 by Cotabato Second District Representative Ferdinand Hernandez over a 2019 Facebook post accusing him of misusing funds intended for Marawi victims.
Causing had questioned the validity of the charge filed against him, arguing that the case had already prescribed, but lower courts rejected his claim before the matter reached the Supreme Court.
The tribunal clarified that cyber libel is not a distinct offense but a digital form of libel, and should therefore follow the same rules on prescription.
It added that the one-year period begins upon discovery of the allegedly defamatory post, noting that online content may not be immediately accessible due to privacy settings or limited reach.