G.R. No. 18260 ; January 27, 1923
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. NORBERTO PAREL, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

Norberto Parel, an election inspector, was charged and found guilty of aiding illiterate voters in preparing their ballots during the general election on June 3, 1919, without being accompanied by an inspector from the opposite political party. He was sentenced to three months imprisonment under Section 2639 of the Administrative Code. The information was filed nearly two years after the offense. After his conviction, Act No. 3030 took effect on March 9, 1922, which amended the Election Law. Its Section 71 provided that offenses resulting from violations of the Act shall prescribe one year after their commission. Prior to this Act, there was no prescriptive period for election offenses. Parel filed a motion to quash the proceedings, arguing that the action was barred by the retroactive application of the new one-year prescriptive period.

ISSUE

Whether Section 71 of Act No. 3030 , which establishes a one-year prescriptive period for election offenses, applies retroactively to bar the prosecution of an offense committed before its enactment.

RULING

Yes. The motion to quash is granted and the case is dismissed. Article 22 of the Penal Code provides that penal laws shall have retroactive effect insofar as they favor the person guilty of a felony or misdemeanor. This principle applies to special laws, including the Election Law, as established by prior jurisprudence. The provision on prescription of penal actions is considered substantive, not merely procedural, under the Spanish legal system upon which Philippine law is based. It extinguishes the right to prosecute and punish, thus favoring the accused. Therefore, Section 71 of Act No. 3030 , being a penal law favorable to the accused, applies retroactively to Parel’s case. Since the information was filed nearly two years after the commission of the offense, the prosecution is barred by the one-year prescriptive period.