ii. Prescription under Special Laws (Act 3326)

Prescription under Special Laws (Act No. 3326)

Concept

Act No. 3326 supplies the default prescriptive periods for violations of special acts, unless the special act provides otherwise. It also covers violations of municipal ordinances. Prescription concerns the time for prosecuting the offense, not the time for enforcing a penalty already imposed. (Act No. 3326, Sections 1–2)

Governing provisions

Section 1 fixes the periods according to the punishment prescribed for the offense. Section 2 governs when prescription begins, is interrupted, and runs again. Thus, first check the penal statute for its own prescription rule before applying Act No. 3326. (Act No. 3326, Sections 1–2)

Requisites / Rules

• One year: offenses punishable only by a fine, by imprisonment of not more than one month, or by both. (Act No. 3326, Section 1)
• Four years: offenses punishable by imprisonment of more than one month but less than two years. (Act No. 3326, Section 1)
• Eight years: offenses punishable by imprisonment of two years or more but less than six years. (Act No. 3326, Section 1)
• Twelve years: offenses punishable by imprisonment of six years or more, except those punishable by death, which prescribe in twenty years. Offenses against laws administered by the Bureau of Internal Revenue prescribe in five years, subject to any applicable special prescription provision. (Act No. 3326, Section 1)
• Two months: violations penalized by municipal ordinances. (Act No. 3326, Section 1)

The period generally runs from the day the violation is committed. If the violation was not then known, Section 2 refers to its discovery and the institution of judicial proceedings for its investigation and punishment. The period is interrupted when proceedings are instituted against the guilty person. (Act No. 3326, Section 2)

Prescription runs again if the proceedings terminate without a conviction or acquittal, or are unjustifiably stopped for a reason not imputable to the accused. In applying this rule, identify the relevant filing, any interruption, and the disposition or stoppage of the proceedings. (Act No. 3326, Section 2)

Distinctions

Do not automatically use the Revised Penal Code periods for an offense punished by a special act. Act No. 3326 is the default for such offenses; an express prescription provision in the special act takes priority. The Civil Code likewise recognizes that special laws may establish rules for specific cases of prescription, but its rules on prescription of property rights do not set the period for prosecuting a special-law offense. (Act No. 3326, Section 1) (Art. 1115, Civil Code)¹

Bar tip

State the offense and its statutory penalty first. Then check for a special prescription clause, select the applicable Act No. 3326 period if none exists, and compute from the proper starting point while accounting for interruption and resumption. (Act No. 3326, Sections 1–2)