Short answer. Yes. Article 309(8), as amended by Republic Act No. 10951 in 2017, provides a lighter penalty — arresto menor in its minimum period or a fine not exceeding five thousand pesos — when the value stolen is not over five hundred pesos and the offender acted from hunger, poverty, or the difficulty of earning a livelihood.
What the law says
Arresto menor in its minimum period or a fine of not exceeding Five thousand pesos (₱5,000), when the value of the thing stolen is not over Five hundred pesos (₱500), and the offender shall have acted under the impulse of hunger, poverty, or the difficulty of earning a livelihood for the support of himself or his family.
Revised Penal Code, Article 309 — Penalties For Theft. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Arresto mayor in its minimum and medium periods, if such value does not exceed Five hundred pesos (₱500).
Revised Penal Code, Article 309 — Penalties For Theft. Read the full provision →
A distinctly lighter penalty for this specific circumstance
Article 309 sets a separate, lighter bracket specifically for this situation. Arresto menor in its minimum period or a fine of not exceeding Five thousand pesos (₱5,000), when the value of the thing stolen is not over Five hundred pesos (₱500), and the offender shall have acted under the impulse of hunger, poverty, or the difficulty of earning a livelihood for the support of himself or his family. This is meaningfully lighter than what the same low value would otherwise draw, reflecting a deliberate legislative recognition that necessity-driven theft of a small amount deserves a different response.
Compare this to theft of the same value without that motive
Without the hunger-or-poverty circumstance, theft of property not exceeding five hundred pesos is instead punished by arresto mayor in its minimum and medium periods, if such value does not exceed Five hundred pesos (₱500). Arresto mayor runs considerably longer than arresto menor. Comparing the two brackets side by side shows how much the specific motive matters here — the same monetary value can lead to a markedly different, lighter penalty once the impulse of hunger, poverty, or difficulty earning a livelihood is actually established.
What has to be proven for the lighter penalty to apply
This lighter penalty is not automatic just because a defendant is poor in general — the article requires that the offender acted under the impulse of hunger, poverty, or the difficulty of earning a livelihood for the support of himself or his family, specifically in connection with that act of theft, and that the value stolen did not exceed five hundred pesos. Both the value ceiling and the specific motivating circumstance need to be established for this provision, rather than the general theft brackets, to apply.
The peso figures reflect the 2017 update
Both the five-hundred-peso value threshold and the five-thousand-peso fine ceiling in this provision are the amounts as revised by Republic Act No. 10951 in 2017, which updated property values and fines throughout the Revised Penal Code. Older printings of the Code may show smaller, pre-2017 figures for provisions like this one, so relying on the current amended text matters when working out which bracket actually applies to a specific case.