What’s the Difference Between Theft and Robbery Under Philippine Law?
Theft and robbery (regrettably) happen all the time and are often covered in the evening news. It is a sad reality in our society wherever we go. Usually, these stories do not make national headlines or grab the front page of newspapers. But if a celebrity is involved, everything changes, and it suddenly becomes a huge deal. The Maritess-es of the world suddenly becomes alive! Still, for most people, these incidents would usually fly under the radar and forget about it in the news a few days later. But what if it hits close to home? What if it happens to you? What is the proper charge that you are going to file if you caught the assailant?
Let us analyze these two crimes below.
The Revised Penal Code, the law that enumerates and defines criminal acts in our country, distinguishes Theft and Robbery. Under Article 308 of the Code, Theft is committed by any person who, with intent to gain but without violence against or intimidation of persons nor force upon things, shall take personal property of another without the latter’s consent. On the other hand, under 294 of the Code, Robbery is committed by any person who, with intent to gain, shall take any personal property belonging to another by means of violence or intimidation of any person or using force upon anything.
To simplify, when someone takes another person’s property without permission, it is considered Theft. In contrast, if the property is taken through the use of violence or intimidation, it qualifies as Robbery. To illustrate, Jose felt something poking him in the back while Mario yelled, “HOLD UP ITO!!” Not knowing that Mario was just holding a toy gun, Jose got scared and gave him all his money before running away. Eventually, the police caught Mario. Can Mario argue that he is not liable for Robbery since he was merely holding a toy gun, a non-lethal object? Certainly not. As long as Mario uses intimidation to steal property, he may be liable for Robbery. It does not matter when the object he used turns out to be a harmless kiddie toy.
There are other acts that may be considered as Theft. For instance, any person who finds lost property must return it to local authorities or its owner. Otherwise, that person is liable for Theft. So, if you find a lost wallet lying around, you’d better not take it for yourself. Another instance is if someone intentionally damages someone else’s property and then takes or uses what was left from that damage, that person is also liable for Theft. And finally, anyone who goes onto a private property or field where trespassing is not allowed and does not have the owner’s permission, that person cannot hunt, fish, or pick crops or other products from that land.
Interestingly, there is another kind of theft that carries a lot more jail time. It is called, Qualified Theft. This type of crime happens when a person abuses or exploits the confidence given by another and steals the latter’s property. To illustrate, a household caretaker who steals money kept in his master’s drawer is usually liable for Qualified Theft. Naturally, the master entrusted the caretaker to “take care” of the house. But let us twist the story a little bit. What if the caretaker forcibly opened a locked door of his master’s bedroom and destroyed the padlock of a drawer containing cash, and stole it? Is it still Qualified Theft? Not anymore. You see, the very fact that the caretaker forced open the door because he was denied access to the bedroom negates the presence of such confidence in him by the master. So, the charge can be Robbery, since the caretaker used force to break into the master’s bedroom to steal.
Robbery and Theft, whether simple or qualified, are two intriguing crimes in the Philippines. Both were defined in the Revised Penal Code since the year of its enactment….in 1930. The year when our (great) grandparents were born. Quite old, is it not? Perhaps, you may wonder if our present legislators can simply roll these two crimes into just one animal since, for some, it can be confusing. Like, let us just call it “burglary”! Part of me would like that to happen for the sake of simplicity. But, the reason for the distinction between the two crimes is simple. Both crimes have different penalties if the Judge declares a person guilty of either Robbery or Theft. Take Mario in the illustration above. While conceding his arrest, he would argue his way out to be found guilty of simple theft rather than robbery since the jail time is significant. For Theft, Mario could face jail time up to 12 years. If Robbery, it could reach 20 years or more.
Nevertheless, while these two crimes are still within the realm of the Revised Penal Code, then that is just how it is for now. Until then, let the police catch those kleptomaniacs and let your good ol’ lawyers sort out the difference for you.
