The provision
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.
Key points
Article 91 explains how the prescriptive period in Article 90 is computed. The period begins on the day the crime is discovered by the offended party, the authorities, or their agents; it is interrupted by the filing of the complaint or information; and it runs again when the proceedings terminate without conviction or acquittal, or are unjustifiably stopped for a reason not attributable to the accused.
The period does not run while the offender is absent from the Philippines. Together with Article 90, the provision determines whether a prosecution — including for libel or cyberlibel — was timely commenced.