Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code: Swindling (estafa)
Status: Amended
Amended
This provision has been amended. The text below is the current version.
- Amended by: Commonwealth Act No. 157 (Changed Section 2, paragraph 2; the whole article was later rewritten.)
- Amended by: Republic Act No. 4885 (Changed Section 2, paragraph (d) (issuance of checks); the whole article was later rewritten.)
- Amended by: Presidential Decree No. 818 (Increased the penalties for estafa by bouncing checks; the whole article was later rewritten.)
- Amended by: Republic Act No. 10951 (Wording as amended by this law.)
What does Article 315 say?
Any person who shall defraud another by any of the means mentioned herein below shall be punished by:
1st. The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its minimum period, if the amount of the fraud is over Two million four hundred thousand pesos (P2,400,000) but does not exceed Four million four hundred thousand pesos (P4,400,000), and if such amount exceeds the latter sum, the penalty provided in this paragraph shall be imposed in its maximum period, adding one year for each additional Two million pesos (P2,000,000): but the total penalty which may be imposed shall not exceed twenty years. In such eases, and in connection with the accessory penalties which may be imposed and for the purpose of the other provisions of this Code, the penalty shall be termed prision mayor or reclusion temporal as the case may be.
2nd. The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods, if the amount of the fraud is over One million two hundred thousand pesos (P1,200,000) but does not exceed Two million four hundred thousand pesos (P2,400,000).
3rd. The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional. in its minimum period, if such amount is over Forty thousand pesos (P40,000) but does not exceed One million two hundred thousand pesos (P1,200,000).
4th. By arresto mayor in its medium and maximum periods, if such amount does not exceed Forty thousand pesos (P40,000): Provided, That in the four cases mentioned, the fraud be committed by any of the following means.
1. With unfaithfulness or abuse of confidence, namely:
(a) By altering the substance, quantity, or quality of anything of value which the offender shall deliver by virtue of an obligation to do so, even though such obligation be based on an immoral or illegal consideration.
(b) By misappropriating or converting, to the prejudice of another, money, goods, or any other personal property received by the offender in trust or on commission, or for administration, or under any other obligation involving the duty to make delivery of or to return the same, even though such obligation be totally or partially guaranteed by a bond: or by denying having received such money, goods, or other property.
(c) By taking undue advantage of the signature of the offended party in blank, and by writing any document above such signature in blank, to the prejudice of the offended party or any third person.
2. By means of any of the following false pretenses or fraudulent acts executed prior to or simultaneously with the commission of the fraud:
(a) By using fictitious name, or falsely pretending to possess power, influence, qualifications, property, credit, agency, business or imaginary transactions, or by means of other similar deceits.
(b) By altering the quality, fineness or weight of anything pertaining to his art or business.
(c) By pretending to have bribed any Government employee, without prejudice to the action for calumny which the offended party may deem proper to bring against the offender. In this case, the offender shall be punished by the maximum period of the penalty.
(d) By postdating a check, or issuing a check in payment of an obligation when the offender had no funds in the bank, or his funds deposited therein were not sufficient to cover the amount of the check. The failure of the drawer of the check to deposit the amount necessary to cover his check within three (3) days from receipt of notice from the bank and/or the payee or holder that said check has been dishonored for lack or insufficiency of funds shall be prima facie evidence of deceit constituting false pretense or fraudulent act.
Any person who shall defraud another by means of false pretenses or fraudulent acts as defined in paragraph 2(d) hereof shall be punished by:
1st. The penalty of reclusion temporal in its maximum period, if the amount of fraud is over Four million four hundred thousand pesos (P4,400,000) but does not exceed Eight million eight hundred thousand pesos (P8,800,000). If the amount exceeds the latter, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua.
2nd. The penalty of reclusion temporal in its minimum and medium periods, if the amount of the fraud is over Two million four hundred thousand pesos (P2,400.000) but does not exceed Four million four hundred thousand pesos (P4,400,000).
3rd. The penalty of prision mayor in its maximum period, if the amount of the fraud is over One million two hundred thousand pesos (P 1,200,000) but does not exceed Two million four hundred thousand pesos (P2,400,000).
4th. The penalty of prision mayor in its medium period, if such amount is over Forty thousand pesos (P40,000) but does not exceed One million two hundred thousand pesos (P1,200,000).
5th. By prision mayor in its minimum period, if such amount does not exceed Forty thousand pesos (P40.000).
3. Through any of the following fraudulent means:
(a) By inducing another, by means of deceit, to sign any document.
(b) By resorting to some fraudulent, practice to insure success in a gambling game.
(c) By removing, concealing or destroying, in whole or in part, any court record, office files, document or any other papers/
What does it mean in plain language?
Article 315 punishes estafa, or swindling: defrauding another person by one of the means the article lists. The most common are keeping money or goods received in trust (abuse of confidence), lying before or at the moment the money is handed over (false pretenses), and paying with a check that has no funds. The penalty depends on the amount of the fraud, and estafa by bouncing check has its own, heavier scale.
Not every unpaid debt is estafa. What the article punishes is the fraud, done by one of its listed means.
See also the comparison theft vs estafa.
How does it work in real life?
Liza and Ana: bags on consignment
Liza gives Ana ₱30,000 worth of bags on consignment: sell them within a month or return them. Ana sells the bags and keeps the money. When Liza texts to ask where the bags are, Ana says she never received them. This can be estafa by abuse of confidence under paragraph 1(b). Under Corpuz, Liza's text asking about the bags can count as a demand. The amount is up to ₱40,000, so the penalty is arresto mayor in its medium and maximum periods.
Ramon and Jun: a fake job slot
Ramon tells Jun he can get him a job abroad and collects ₱90,000 as a "processing fee". There is no job, and Ramon has no agency. The lie came before the payment, which fits paragraph 2(a). Before paying anyone for a job abroad, check the agency's status on the official list. See How to check a recruitment agency.
Carlo: a late loan
Carlo borrows ₱50,000 from his cousin and does not pay on time. He did not lie to get the loan and was not holding the money in trust for anyone. On these facts, none of the means in Article 315 is present, so it may not be estafa. It is usually a civil matter. See Can you go to jail for unpaid debt?
What does this mean in practice?
- Proof of what was handed over and on what terms often matters: receipts, written agreements, chat messages, and any demand that was made.
- The amount of the fraud decides the bracket, so its proof matters.
- A bounced check may lead to both an estafa case and a case under Batas Pambansa Blg. 22. Section 5 of BP 22 says a prosecution under it is without prejudice to liability under the Revised Penal Code.
- For a fuller explanation of estafa cases, see Estafa in the Philippines: elements and penalty. If you are accused or want to file a complaint, see Free legal help in the Philippines.
What are the main ways estafa is committed?
Article 315 groups the means into three numbered paragraphs. This page explains three of the means.
Abuse of confidence: paragraph 1(b)
This is keeping or using something that was handed over with a duty to return it or deliver it:
By misappropriating or converting, to the prejudice of another, money, goods, or any other personal property received by the offender in trust or on commission, or for administration, or under any other obligation involving the duty to make delivery of or to return the same
Denying that you received the money or goods is also covered. The owner gave the thing willingly. The crime is what the receiver did with it afterwards.
False pretenses: paragraph 2(a)
This is getting money or property by a lie told before or at the same time as the fraud:
By using fictitious name, or falsely pretending to possess power, influence, qualifications, property, credit, agency, business or imaginary transactions, or by means of other similar deceits.
The timing matters. Article 315 says these acts are "executed prior to or simultaneously with the commission of the fraud". A lie told only after the money was handed over does not fit this paragraph.
Bouncing check: paragraph 2(d)
This is postdating a check, or issuing a check in payment of an obligation, when there are no funds or not enough funds in the bank. The article adds a rule on proof:
The failure of the drawer of the check to deposit the amount necessary to cover his check within three (3) days from receipt of notice from the bank and/or the payee or holder that said check has been dishonored for lack or insufficiency of funds shall be prima facie evidence of deceit constituting false pretense or fraudulent act.
"Prima facie evidence" means the law presumes deceit unless the accused shows otherwise. A bounced check can also be a separate crime under Batas Pambansa Blg. 22. See BP 22 vs estafa.
What did the Supreme Court say about the elements and the demand?
In Corpuz v. People (2014), a man received jewelry worth ₱98,000 on commission. He was to sell it and remit the proceeds, or return it if unsold, and he did neither. The full Supreme Court (En Banc) denied his petition and kept his conviction for estafa by abuse of confidence, changing only the prison term.
The Court listed four elements: the property was received in trust, on commission, for administration or with a duty to return it; it was misappropriated or converted, or its receipt was denied; this prejudiced another; and the offended party made a demand. On the demand, the Court said: "Demand need not even be formal; it may be verbal." Even a simple question about where the money or property is can count.
The same decision explains why the 1930 peso amounts stayed in force for years. The Court said it could not change the ranges itself, because that "would constitute judicial legislation". Republic Act No. 10951 (2017) later replaced the amounts.
What is the penalty for estafa by amount?
For every means except the bouncing-check paragraph 2(d), the ranges in the last column come from the table of durations in Article 76 of the Code.
| Amount of the fraud | Penalty in Article 315 | Range in the Code |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ₱40,000 | Arresto mayor, medium and maximum periods | 2 months 1 day to 6 months |
| Over ₱40,000 to ₱1,200,000 | Arresto mayor maximum to prision correccional minimum | 4 months 1 day to 2 years 4 months |
| Over ₱1,200,000 to ₱2,400,000 | Prision correccional, minimum and medium periods | 6 months 1 day to 4 years 2 months |
| Over ₱2,400,000 to ₱4,400,000 | Prision correccional maximum to prision mayor minimum | 4 years 2 months 1 day to 8 years |
| Over ₱4,400,000 | The penalty above in its maximum period, plus 1 year for each additional ₱2,000,000 | Total not more than 20 years |
Estafa by bouncing check under paragraph 2(d) has its own scale:
| Amount of the fraud | Penalty in Article 315 | Range in the Code |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ₱40,000 | Prision mayor, minimum period | 6 years 1 day to 8 years |
| Over ₱40,000 to ₱1,200,000 | Prision mayor, medium period | 8 years 1 day to 10 years |
| Over ₱1,200,000 to ₱2,400,000 | Prision mayor, maximum period | 10 years 1 day to 12 years |
| Over ₱2,400,000 to ₱4,400,000 | Reclusion temporal, minimum and medium periods | 12 years 1 day to 17 years 4 months |
| Over ₱4,400,000 to ₱8,800,000 | Reclusion temporal, maximum period | 17 years 4 months 1 day to 20 years |
| Over ₱8,800,000 | Reclusion perpetua | 20 years 1 day to 40 years (Article 27) |
These are the ranges the law allows, not the sentence a person will receive. The court fixes the actual sentence using other rules of the Code and the facts. For the full table with a source for every row, see Estafa penalties by amount.
What changed with Republic Act No. 10951?
Before 2017, the first scale of Article 315 began its top bracket at more than 12,000 pesos and added one year for each additional 10,000 pesos. Republic Act No. 10951 raised these to ₱2,400,000 and ₱2,000,000, and set the other amounts shown above. Earlier laws had already changed the check paragraph and its penalties; the wording in force is the one Republic Act No. 10951 printed for the whole article.
Frequently asked questions
What are the elements of estafa by abuse of confidence?
In Corpuz v. People (2014), the Supreme Court listed four: the offender received money or property in trust, on commission, for administration or with a duty to deliver or return it; he misappropriated or converted it, or denied receiving it; this prejudiced another person; and the offended party made a demand.
Does the demand for estafa have to be in writing?
No. In Corpuz v. People, the Supreme Court said demand need not be formal and may be verbal. Even a simple question about where the money or property is can count as a demand.
Is failing to pay a loan estafa?
Not by itself. Article 315 punishes defrauding someone by one of the means it lists, such as misappropriating property held in trust or lying before the money was handed over. A loan that is simply not paid on time, with no such means, is usually a civil matter.
Is estafa by bouncing check punished more heavily?
Yes. Article 315 gives paragraph 2(d), estafa by postdating or issuing a check without enough funds, its own scale. It starts at prision mayor in its minimum period for amounts up to ₱40,000 and reaches reclusion perpetua above ₱8,800,000.
Can estafa between relatives be filed as a criminal case?
Article 332 says swindling between spouses, ascendants and descendants, and some other relatives listed there results only in civil liability. Strangers who take part are not covered by the exemption.
General information, not legal advice. For your case, ask a lawyer, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or the agency.
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