Robbery in the Philippines: Kinds and Penalties

Article 293 defines the crime:

In Del Rosario v. People (2019), the Supreme Court listed four elements: (1) a taking of personal property; (2) the property belongs to another; (3) the taking is with intent to gain; and (4) the taking is with violence against or intimidation of persons, or with force upon things.

So there are two families of robbery:

• Robbery with violence or intimidation of persons (Article 294), for example a holdup.
• Robbery with force upon things (Article 299 and the articles after it), for example breaking into a house.

In Del Rosario, the Court said that "the distinguishing element between the crimes of robbery and theft is the use of violence or intimidation as a means of taking the property belonging to another". Theft under Article 308 is taking without violence, intimidation or force upon things.

Snatching shows the line. In Ablaza v. People (2018), necklaces were grabbed from a woman's neck by a rider on the back of a motorcycle. The Court said that "grab" points to the suddenness of the taking, which "cannot be readily equated with the employment of violence or physical force", and found the accused guilty of theft, not robbery. Del Rosario, a necklace snatched in a jeepney, ended the same way. If the snatcher punches or threatens the victim, the crime may be robbery. The court decides on the evidence.

Intimidation does not always need a weapon. In Peralta v. People (2023), the Supreme Court affirmed a conviction for simple robbery where money was obtained through extortion, which it treated as intimidation. For theft penalties, see theft penalty in the Philippines.

For the two crimes side by side, see robbery vs theft.

Article 294 sets five levels, based on what happened during the robbery:

The ranges come from Articles 27 and 76. Case 5 is what is often called simple robbery: a holdup where no one is killed or seriously hurt.

Two more rules can push the penalty to its maximum period. Article 295 does this for cases 3, 4 and 5 when the robbery is committed in an uninhabited place or by a band, or on a street, road, highway or alley with intimidation using a firearm, among other situations. Article 296 says a robbery is committed by a band when more than three armed persons take part, and it imposes the maximum of the penalty when any of the arms is an unlicensed firearm.

Case 1 covers a killing "by reason or on occasion of the robbery". In People v. Casabuena (2020), the Supreme Court listed the elements: the taking of personal property is committed with violence or intimidation against persons; the property belongs to another; the taking is with intent to gain; and by reason or on occasion of the robbery, homicide is committed.

The Court added that the robbery must be the main purpose: "The intent to rob must precede the taking of human life. The killing, however, may occur before, during, or after the robbery."

The penalty written in the article is reclusion perpetua to death. Republic Act No. 9346 prohibits the death penalty, so the court imposes reclusion perpetua. For the standard damages set by the Supreme Court in such cases, see People v. Jugueta and damages for death in a criminal case.

Article 299, as amended by Republic Act No. 10951 (2017), covers robbery with force upon things in an inhabited house, a public building or a building used for religious worship. Force upon things means, for example, entering through an opening not meant for entry, breaking a wall, roof, floor, door or window, using false keys or picklocks, or breaking locked furniture inside.

If the robbery is committed in a dependency of the house, such as an interior court or a warehouse connected to it, the penalty is one degree lower. Under Article 301, a house is still "inhabited" even if the people living there are away when the robbery happens.

Robbery with force upon things in an uninhabited place or in other buildings is covered by Article 302. When the property is worth more than ₱50,000 and one of the listed kinds of force was used, the penalty is prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods (2 years, 4 months and 1 day to 6 years); when it is worth ₱50,000 or less, it is one degree lower. Article 302 also raises the penalty by one degree in several robbery articles when the property taken is mail matter or large cattle.

For all the robbery penalties in one table, see robbery penalties.

Yes. Under Article 100, every person criminally liable for a felony is also civilly liable. Article 104 says this covers restitution, reparation of the damage caused and indemnification for consequential damages.

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

Arvin points a knife at Joy at a jeepney stop and tells her to hand over her phone. She does, and she is not hurt. There is intimidation, and none of the results in cases 1 to 4 happened, so this would fall under case 5 of Article 294.

Jun's bag is pulled away while he is distracted. If the court finds no violence, intimidation or force upon things, the taking may be theft, as in Ablaza and Del Rosario.

Rey breaks a window of a house while the family is away and takes a television and cash worth ₱30,000 in all. He carries no weapon. The house is still inhabited, he used force upon things, and the value is ₱50,000 or less, so Article 299 sets prision mayor in its minimum period.

It depends on the penalty. Under Article 90, crimes punishable by death, reclusion perpetua or reclusion temporal prescribe in twenty years, and those punishable by other afflictive penalties, such as prision mayor, in fifteen years. See prescription of crimes. Entering a house without taking anything may be a different crime: see trespass to dwelling. A pending case can show up in a police clearance.

Talk to a lawyer if you are accused of robbery, because the difference between robbery and theft, or between the five cases of Article 294, can change the penalty by many years. A victim may also want a lawyer to follow the case and the claim for damages. If you cannot afford one, see Free legal help in the Philippines for the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) and other options.