Theft Penalty by Amount in the Philippines (RA 10951)
The penalty for theft depends on the value stolen: 1 month and 1 day to 4 months for up to ₱500, up to a total of 20 years for the largest amounts.
| Value of the thing stolen | Penalty in Article 309 | How long (Articles 27 and 76) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to ₱500 | Arresto mayor, minimum and medium periods | 1 month and 1 day to 4 months | Republic Act No. 10951, Sec. 81 (Article 309), Supreme Court E-Library |
| Over ₱500 up to ₱5,000 | Arresto mayor to its full extent | 1 month and 1 day to 6 months | Republic Act No. 10951, Sec. 81 (Article 309), Supreme Court E-Library |
| Over ₱5,000 up to ₱20,000 | Arresto mayor in its medium period to prision correccional in its minimum period | 2 months and 1 day to 2 years and 4 months | Republic Act No. 10951, Sec. 81 (Article 309), Supreme Court E-Library |
| Over ₱20,000 up to ₱600,000 | Prision correccional, minimum and medium periods | 6 months and 1 day to 4 years and 2 months | Republic Act No. 10951, Sec. 81 (Article 309), Supreme Court E-Library |
| Over ₱600,000 up to ₱1,200,000 | Prision correccional, medium and maximum periods | 2 years, 4 months and 1 day to 6 years | Republic Act No. 10951, Sec. 81 (Article 309), Supreme Court E-Library |
| Over ₱1,200,000 up to ₱2,200,000 | Prision mayor, minimum and medium periods | 6 years and 1 day to 10 years | Republic Act No. 10951, Sec. 81 (Article 309), Supreme Court E-Library |
| Over ₱2,200,000 | In the words of the law: "the maximum period of the one prescribed in this paragraph, and one (1) year for each additional One million pesos (P1,000,000)" | No fixed range: 1 year is added for each additional ₱1,000,000, but the total "shall not exceed twenty (20) years" | Republic Act No. 10951, Sec. 81 (Article 309), Supreme Court E-Library |
| Up to ₱500, when the theft is hunting, fishing or gathering fruits or farm products on an enclosed estate or a field of another, without the owner's consent (Article 308, item 3) | Arresto menor or a fine of up to ₱20,000 | 1 to 30 days, or the fine | Republic Act No. 10951, Sec. 81 (Article 309), Supreme Court E-Library |
| Up to ₱500, when the offender acted "under the impulse of hunger, poverty, or the difficulty of earning a livelihood" to support himself or his family | Arresto menor in its minimum period or a fine of up to ₱5,000 | 1 to 10 days, or the fine | Republic Act No. 10951, Sec. 81 (Article 309), Supreme Court E-Library |
Notes
- The table shows the range the law allows for each value. It is not the sentence a person will get. The court fixes the actual sentence using other rules of the Code and the facts of the case. The lengths come from Articles 27 and 76 of the Revised Penal Code; arresto mayor starts at 1 month and 1 day (Article 27).
- Theft itself is defined in Article 308: taking personal property of another, with intent to gain and without the owner's consent, but without violence, intimidation or force upon things. Keeping lost property you found, instead of delivering it to the owner or to the local authorities, is also theft.
- Qualified theft is punished by the penalties "next higher by two degrees" than the bracket in this table (Article 310, as amended by Batas Pambansa Blg. 71). Examples in the law are theft by a domestic servant, theft with grave abuse of confidence, and theft on the occasion of a fire, typhoon or other calamity. This table does not give a computed range for qualified theft. See What is qualified theft?
- The two special rows apply only when the value is not over ₱500. For hunting, fishing or gathering, Article 309 says that if the value is higher, the ordinary brackets apply.
- Republic Act No. 10951 replaced the peso values written in 1930. Section 100 says the law applies retroactively "to the extent that it is favorable to the accused or person serving sentence by final judgment."
- Made-up example: Mark hides a ₱1,200 bottle of perfume in his bag at a mall. The value is over ₱500 but not over ₱5,000, so the bracket is arresto mayor to its full extent (1 month and 1 day to 6 months). Being stopped at the exit does not make it a "frustrated" theft: in Valenzuela v. People the Supreme Court held that "there is no crime of frustrated theft". See Caught shoplifting before leaving the store.
- Made-up example: Nena, a kasambahay, takes ₱3,000 from her employer's drawer. Theft by a domestic servant is qualified theft, so the penalty is two degrees higher than the "over ₱500 up to ₱5,000" row.
- Made-up example: Tonyo has no work and takes ₱300 worth of rice to feed his children. If the court finds that he acted under the impulse of hunger or poverty, the last row applies: arresto menor in its minimum period or a fine of up to ₱5,000.
- For the full explanation, see What is the penalty for theft in the Philippines? For the length of every penalty and its periods, see Duration of penalties. A pending case can matter when you apply for a clearance: see NBI clearance HIT status. If you are accused or want to file a complaint, see Free legal help.
General information, not legal advice. For your case, ask a lawyer, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or the agency.
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