What Is Qualified Theft? Penalty for Kasambahay and Employees

This is the text as amended by Batas Pambansa Blg. 71 (1980). The original 1930 text of the Code punished qualified theft only one degree higher and had a shorter list of circumstances.

Article 310 lists them in three groups.

Who stole:

• a domestic servant, such as a kasambahay;
• a person who stole with grave abuse of confidence.

What was stolen:

• a motor vehicle;
• mail matter;
• large cattle;
• coconuts taken from the premises of a plantation;
• fish taken from a fishpond or fishery.

When it was stolen:

• on the occasion of a fire, earthquake, typhoon, volcanic eruption or any other calamity;
• on the occasion of a vehicular accident or a civil disturbance.

The theft itself must still be proven first. Qualified theft is ordinary theft under Article 308 (taking without consent, with intent to gain, without violence or force) plus one of these circumstances.

See also the comparison theft vs estafa.

Start from the Article 309 bracket for the value stolen, then go two degrees higher. For example, theft of more than ₱500 up to ₱5,000 is punished by arresto mayor. If the same theft is qualified, the penalty is two degrees above arresto mayor.

The Code has separate rules for moving a penalty up by degrees, and the final sentence also depends on the facts of the case. We do not print a computed range here. The point to remember is that qualified theft always carries a heavier penalty than ordinary theft of the same amount. For the ordinary brackets, see Theft penalties by amount.

Because Article 310 names theft "committed by a domestic servant". The article does not require anything more: if a domestic servant commits theft, the theft is qualified. The prosecution must still prove the theft and that the accused was the one who took the property. For the rights and duties of household workers under the Batas Kasambahay, see Kasambahay rights.

Not automatically. The article covers theft "with grave abuse of confidence". Whether a cashier, collector, driver or other employee abused a confidence that is "grave" depends on the job, the trust given and the facts. This page does not cover the court rulings on this point.

Article 310 lists "motor vehicle" among the things that make theft qualified. This page does not cover whether a separate special law applies to taking a car or motorcycle, so it does not say which law fits a given case.

These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.

Nena, a kasambahay, takes ₱3,000 from a drawer in her employer's bedroom. Ordinary theft of more than ₱500 up to ₱5,000 is punished by arresto mayor. Because Article 310 names theft by a domestic servant, this can be charged as qualified theft, with a penalty two degrees higher.

Joel picks up a neighbor's bicycle left outside while everyone on the street is evacuating from a typhoon, and keeps it. Article 310 covers property taken "on the occasion of" a typhoon, whoever the offender is, so this can be qualified theft.

The value of what was taken matters, because it decides the starting bracket in Article 309. So does the circumstance alleged, because it decides whether the theft is qualified. Records of what is missing, its value and how the loss was discovered are part of the evidence. Under Rule 110 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, a criminal case starts with a complaint filed with the proper officer, and whether the case is theft or qualified theft depends on the facts alleged and proven. Both employer and worker may also have separate rights and duties under the Batas Kasambahay.

Qualified theft carries a heavy penalty, so talk to a lawyer right away if you are accused, or before you file a complaint. A lawyer can check whether the facts are theft at all, which Article 310 circumstance is alleged, how the value will be proven and what penalty range applies. If you cannot afford a lawyer, see Free legal help in the Philippines for the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) and other options.