Short answer. It falls under Article 302 of the Revised Penal Code, which covers robbery in an uninhabited place or in a private building other than a dwelling. The penalty is lighter than for robbery in an inhabited house, but only if one of five listed breaking-in circumstances is present.
What the law says
Any robbery committed in an uninhabited place or in a building other than those mentioned in the first paragraph of Article 299, if the value of the property taken exceeds Fifty thousand pesos (₱50,000), shall be punished by prisión correccional in its medium and maximum periods
Revised Penal Code, Article 302 — Robbery In Uninhabited Or Private Building. Read the full provision →
Which building you were in changes the article
The Revised Penal Code treats robbery by force upon things differently depending on the place. Article 299 deals with an inhabited house, a public building, or an edifice devoted to religious worship — places where people live or gather, and where an intruder therefore endangers persons as well as property. Article 302 picks up everything else: an uninhabited place, or a private building that is not one of those. A shuttered shop, a warehouse, a locked office, a closed stall — these ordinarily fall under Article 302. Because the risk to human life is lower, the penalty is correspondingly lower than the one Article 299 imposes.
The five circumstances that must be present
Article 302 does not punish every taking from an empty building. One of five circumstances must accompany it: entry through an opening not intended for entrance or egress; the breaking of a wall, roof, floor, outside door or window; entry using false keys, picklocks or similar tools; the breaking of a door, wardrobe, chest or any sealed or closed furniture or receptacle; or the removal of such a sealed receptacle even if it is forced open elsewhere. All five describe force applied to things. Where none is present — for instance, where the door was left open and nothing was forced — the taking is generally theft rather than this form of robbery, which is a materially different charge.
The peso figures come from RA 10951
The value thresholds in the text above are those set by Republic Act No. 10951 (2017), which overhauled the property values and fines throughout the Revised Penal Code. Where the value taken exceeds fifty thousand pesos the stated penalty applies; where it does not exceed that figure, the penalty next lower in degree is imposed. This matters when you read the Code elsewhere: many printed and online copies still carry the 1930 amounts, which are far lower and long superseded. Always check which version a source is giving you before relying on any peso figure in this Code.
What raises the penalty, and what this article leaves out
Article 302 itself raises the penalty by one degree where the property taken is mail matter or large cattle, and that increase applies across several of the robbery articles. What the article does not cover is violence against people. If anyone was assaulted, threatened or intimidated during the incident, a different set of provisions applies, and where a killing occurs by reason or on the occasion of a robbery — even an attempted or frustrated one — Article 297 and its neighbours impose far graver penalties. Value, the manner of entry, and whether any person was harmed are the three facts that decide which article governs, so record them precisely.
Related provisions
- Revised Penal Code, Article 302 — Robbery In Uninhabited Or Private Building
- Revised Penal Code, Article 299 — Robbery In An Inhabited House
- Revised Penal Code, Article 297 — Attempted Or Frustrated Robbery With Homicide