Prescription Period for Qualified Theft Below ₱5 000

(Philippine law, updated to Republic Act No. 10951; current as of 31 May 2025)

1. Statutory Foundations

Topic	Key Provision
Simple theft	Art. 308 & 309, Revised Penal Code (RPC), as amended by RA 10951 (eff. 21 Sept 2017)
Qualified theft	Art. 310 RPC (“two degrees higher than that specified in Art. 309”)
Prescription of crimes	Arts. 90–91 RPC
Prescription of penalties	Arts. 92–93 RPC

2. Amount-Based Penalty Ladder after RA 10951

Value of property taken (simple theft)	Principal penalty (Art. 309 RPC, post-10951)
≤ ₱5 000	Arresto menor (1 day – 30 days) OR fine ≤ value taken (but ≥ ₱2 000) at court’s discretion

Art. 310 then raises the penalty by two degrees for qualified theft. Using Art. 71’s scale of penalties, two degrees above arresto menor is prisión correccional (6 months + 1 day – 6 years).

Practical result: Qualified theft involving ≤ ₱5 000 is punishable by prisión correccional (minimum 6 months + 1 day to maximum 6 years). If the circumstances triggering qualified theft already require the maximum period (e.g., offender is a domestic servant), the sentencing court must apply prisión correccional in its maximum period (4 years + 2 months – 6 years).

3. How Long Does the State’s Right to Prosecute Last?

Article 90 RPC (prescription of crimes) ties prescriptive periods to the afflictive / correctional / light class of the statutory penalty, not to the penalty actually imposed after trial.

Afflictive penalties (reclusión temporal, etc.) → 20 or 15 years.
Correctional penalties (prisión correccional & arresto mayor) → 10 years.
Light penalties (arresto menor, fine ≤ ₱40 000, censure) → 2 months.

Because qualified theft ≤ ₱5 000 carries prisión correccional (a correctional penalty), the crime prescribes in 10 years.

🔑 Rule of Thumb: For any qualified theft where the amount is small enough that the base offense would only be arresto menor, the prescriptive period automatically jumps to ten (10) years because of the two-degree penalty upgrade.

4. Computing the Ten Years (Art. 91 RPC)

Dies a quo (start date) – the day on which the offense is discovered by the offended party, authorities, or proper officials, not the date of commission if the taking was secret. Case references: People v. Santos (CA, 2022) and People v. Abobon (GR 187238, Jan 12 2021) emphasize discovery as the trigger.
Suspension / Interruption
- Filing of a complaint or information with the Office of the Prosecutor or the court interrupts prescription (People v. Olarte, GR L-1672, 1964).
- If the proceedings are dismissed without prejudice or the accused is absent, the clock starts anew but only the time elapsed before the filing is deducted.
Running again – Prescription resumes the day after proceedings are terminated without final judgment, or when the accused goes into hiding outside Philippine territory (Art. 91¶2).
Effect of barangay conciliation – A written barangay complaint also tolls prescription because it is a “proceeding against the offender” (Bustinera v. People, GR 148233, Aug 11 2004). Qualified theft, however, is excluded from mandatory barangay proceedings when (a) it involves an employer–employee relationship or (b) the accused resides in a different city/municipality (Sec. 408-409, Local Government Code).

5. Distinction from the Prescription of the Penalty (Arts. 92-93)

If the accused is convicted and later becomes a fugitive after judgment becomes final:

Penalty finally imposed	Penalty class	Penalty prescribes after
Prisión correccional (any period)	Correctional	10 years

The separate 10-year clock begins the day the judgment became final and the convict evaded service (Art. 93).

6. Frequently Litigated Issues & Leading Cases

Issue	Key point	Notable cases
Aggregation of amounts	For a single continuing scheme (e.g., serial cash pilferage by a cashier), the total value may be aggregated to determine the penalty tier. If the aggregate exceeds ₱5 000, the underlying penalty changes, but the two-degree rule still applies.	People v. Domingo (CA-G.R. CR-H.C. 04971, 2019)
When is theft “qualified”?	(a) Domestic servant, (b) relationship of spouse/ascendant/descendant/relatives by affinity within 3rd degree, (c) abuse of confidence, or (d) special property/location cases (cargo, fishpond, motor vehicle parts, etc.).	People v. Nocom (GR 186641, Feb 1 2012); Heirs of Malate v. Gozar (GR 225679, Mar 27 2019)
Civil action & restitution	Restitution may be decreed together with conviction. Independent civil action for damages prescribes in 4 years (Art. 1146 Civil Code) if based on quasi-delict, but is often deemed tacked to the criminal action; prescription is tolled by the criminal complaint.	Spouses Diaz v. People (GR 180677, Mar 11 2015)

7. Practical Checklist for Practitioners

Verify the amount strictly against RA 10951 thresholds.
Identify qualifying circumstances – the presence of even one elevates the offense.
Compute the penalty (start from Art. 309 table → raise two degrees → apply special rules for max period if servant/spouse, etc.).
Mark the discovery date – that is “Day 0” for prescription.
Track every filing (lupon, prosecutor, court) – note each date that tolls or resumes the prescription clock.
Advise prosecutors: For incidents near the 10-year mark, file immediately to avoid dismissal on prescription grounds.
For defense counsel: Scrutinise gaps in proceedings; if more than 10 years total elapsed without a valid interruption, file a motion to quash.

8. Summary

Aspect	Rule for Qualified Theft ≤ ₱5 000
Statutory penalty	Prisión correccional (min.–med.) = 6 months + 1 day → 4 years + 2 months (or up to 6 years if special max-period rule applies)
Class of penalty	Correctional
Prescriptive period of the crime	10 years from discovery, tolled by any prosecutorial or judicial action
Prescriptive period of the penalty (if convict escapes after final judgment)	10 years from date of evasion
Key jurisprudence	Olarte, Panaguiton, Bustinera, Nocom, Abobon, among others

Bottom line: In Philippine law, once the circumstance of qualified theft attaches—even for property worth ₱5 000 or less—the offense no longer benefits from the two-month prescriptive period of light felonies. Instead, because the penalty ascends two degrees to prisión correccional, the State has a full decade to prosecute, and any final sentence likewise prescribes only after 10 further years if the convict absconds.