Article 299 of the Revised Penal Code: Robbery in an inhabited house
Status: Amended
Amended
This provision has been amended. The text below is the current version.
- Amended by: Republic Act No. 18 (Changed the first paragraph; the whole article was later rewritten.)
- Amended by: Republic Act No. 10951 (Wording as amended by this law.)
What does Article 299 say?
Any armed person who shall commit robbery in an inhabited house or public building or edifice devoted to religious worship, shall be punished by reclusion temporal, if the value of the property taken shall exceed Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000). and if -
(a) The malefactors shall enter the house or building in which the robbery was committed, by any of the following means:
1. Through an opening not intended for entrance or egress.
2. By breaking any wall, roof, or floor or breaking any door or window.
3. By using false keys, pick locks or similar tools.
4. By using any fictitious name or pretending the exercise of public authority.
Or if -
(b) The robbery be committed under any of the following circumstances:
1, By the breaking of doors, wardrobes., chests, or any other kind of locked or sealed furniture or receptacle.
2. By taking such furniture or objects away to be broken or forced open outside the place of the robbery.
When the offenders do not carry arms, and the value of the property taken exceeds Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000) the penalty next lower in degree shall be imposed.
The same rule shall be applied when the offenders are armed, but the value of the property taken does not exceed Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000).
When said offenders do not carry arms and the value of the property taken does not exceed Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000), they shall suffer the penalty prescribed in the two (2) next preceding paragraphs, in its minimum period.
If the robbery be committed in one of the dependencies of an inhabited house, public building, or building dedicated to religious worship, the penalties next lower in degree than those prescribed in this article shall be imposed.
What does it mean in plain language?
Article 299 sets the penalties for robbery by force upon things in an inhabited house, a public building or a building used for religious worship. The penalty depends on two facts: whether the robbers were armed, and whether the property taken is worth more than ₱50,000. The heaviest penalty, reclusion temporal, applies when the robbers were armed and the value is over ₱50,000.
Robbery itself is defined in Article 293. Article 299 covers robbery "using force upon anything", such as breaking in. Robbery with violence against or intimidation of a person is in Article 294.
How does it work in real life?
Rey: through the window
While the Santos family is in the province, Rey breaks a window and climbs into their house. He takes a television and cash worth ₱30,000 in all. He carries no weapon. The house is inhabited even though the family is away, and he entered by breaking a window. He was not armed and the value is ₱50,000 or less, so the penalty is prision mayor in its minimum period.
Dodong and Lando: armed, with a picklock
Dodong and Lando, both carrying knives, open a house door with a picklock and take jewelry worth ₱120,000. They used a picklock and were armed, and the value exceeds ₱50,000. The penalty is reclusion temporal.
Tina: an open door
Tina walks into her neighbor's house through the open front door and takes a phone from the table. She breaks nothing, uses no false key and threatens no one. This is not robbery under Article 299; it may be theft.
What does this mean in practice?
- Value matters. The value of what was taken decides the penalty, so receipts, photos and other proof of value help in the case.
- The court decides whether the robbers were armed, how they entered, and the value of the property, on the evidence.
- Prescription. Under Article 90, crimes punishable by reclusion temporal prescribe in twenty years; those punishable by other afflictive penalties, such as prision mayor, in fifteen years. See prescription of crimes.
- Entering without taking anything may be a different crime. See trespass to dwelling.
- A pending case can show up when the accused applies for a police clearance. See the police clearance guide.
- For a question-and-answer guide, see robbery in the Philippines: kinds and penalties.
How must the robbers enter or act?
The article lists two groups of situations. The first is about how the robbers get in:
(a) The malefactors shall enter the house or building in which the robbery was committed, by any of the following means:
- Through an opening not intended for entrance or egress.
- By breaking any wall, roof, or floor or breaking any door or window.
- By using false keys, pick locks or similar tools.
- By using any fictitious name or pretending the exercise of public authority.
The second group, paragraph (b), covers robbery committed inside by breaking doors, wardrobes, chests or any other locked or sealed furniture or receptacle, or by taking such furniture or objects away to be broken or forced open outside.
One of these situations must be present. Taking property from a house without any force upon things, and without violence or intimidation, is theft under Article 308, not robbery.
What are the penalties?
The amounts below were set by Republic Act No. 10951 (2017).
| Robbers | Value of the property taken | Penalty | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armed | More than ₱50,000 | Reclusion temporal | 12 years and 1 day to 20 years |
| Not armed | More than ₱50,000 | The penalty next lower in degree: prision mayor | 6 years and 1 day to 12 years |
| Armed | ₱50,000 or less | The penalty next lower in degree: prision mayor | 6 years and 1 day to 12 years |
| Not armed | ₱50,000 or less | Prision mayor in its minimum period | 6 years and 1 day to 8 years |
The article states one of these rules this way:
When the offenders do not carry arms, and the value of the property taken exceeds Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000) the penalty next lower in degree shall be imposed.
The penalty next lower than reclusion temporal is prision mayor, under the graduated scale of Article 71. The ranges come from Articles 27 and 76.
Two more rules can change the penalty:
- Dependencies. If the robbery is committed in a dependency of the house or building, the penalty is one degree lower than the ones above.
- Mail matter or large cattle. The last paragraph of Article 302 says that when the property taken in robbery under Article 299 is mail matter or large cattle, the penalty is one degree higher.
- For all the robbery penalties in one table, see robbery penalties.
What is an inhabited house or a dependency?
Article 301 gives the definitions:
Inhabited house means any shelter, ship or vessel constituting the dwelling of one or more persons, even though the inhabitants thereof shall temporarily be absent therefrom when the robbery is committed.
So a house is still "inhabited" while the family is away on vacation. Dependencies are interior courts, corrals, warehouses, granaries, barns, stables and other enclosed places next to the building, with an interior entrance connected to it, that form part of the whole. Orchards and other lands used for cultivation or production are not dependencies, even if they are fenced and next to the house. Article 301 also says a "public building" includes any building owned by the Government, or owned by a private person but used or rented by the Government, even if temporarily unoccupied.
Frequently asked questions
What is the penalty for robbery in an inhabited house?
It depends on whether the robbers were armed and whether the property taken is worth more than ₱50,000. If they were armed and the value exceeds ₱50,000, the penalty is reclusion temporal (12 years and 1 day to 20 years). In the other cases the penalty is lower, as Article 299 explains.
What counts as an inhabited house?
Article 301 says it is any shelter, ship or vessel that is the dwelling of one or more persons, even if the people living there are away when the robbery happens.
Is breaking into a house robbery or theft?
Entering a house through an opening not meant for entry, by breaking a wall, roof, floor, door or window, or with false keys or picklocks, is one of the means listed in Article 299. Taking property this way is robbery with force upon things, not theft.
What is the ₱50,000 threshold in Article 299?
Republic Act No. 10951 of 2017 set it. When the property taken is worth more than ₱50,000 and the robbers were armed, the penalty is reclusion temporal. If the value is ₱50,000 or less, or the robbers were unarmed, the penalty is lower.
What if the robbery happened in the garage or a storeroom?
If the place is a dependency of the house, such as an interior court, warehouse or other enclosed place connected to the house with an interior entrance, Article 299 gives the penalty next lower in degree. Orchards and farmland are not dependencies under Article 301.
General information, not legal advice. For your case, ask a lawyer, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or the agency.
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