Question & AnswerQ&A (Commonwealth Act No. 417)
Commonwealth Act No. 417 increases the penalty for robbery or theft of mail matter by amending Articles 302 and 310 of the Revised Penal Code.
It amends Article 302 by specifying conditions under which robbery in an uninhabited place or private building with property value exceeding 250 pesos shall be punished by prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods, and increases penalties when mail matter or large cattle are involved.
Circumstances include: entrance through openings not intended for entrance/egress, breaking walls, roofs, floors or doors/windows, use of false keys or picklocks, breaking sealed furniture or receptacles, or removing closed sealed receptacles even if opened elsewhere.
The penalty next lower in degree than prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods shall be imposed.
The offender shall suffer the penalties next higher in degree than those originally provided in Articles 294, 295, 297, 299, 300, and 302 if the stolen property is mail matter or large cattle.
Article 310 is amended to impose penalties next higher in degree than those specified for theft if committed by a domestic servant, with grave abuse of confidence, or if the stolen property is coconuts or fish taken from fishpond or fishery, with the maximum period imposed if the stolen property is mail matter or large cattle.
Qualified theft is theft committed by a domestic servant, with grave abuse of confidence, or involving coconuts or fish taken from fishponds or fisheries.
The maximum period of the penalty prescribed in Article 310 shall be imposed when the stolen property is mail matter or large cattle.
The Act took effect upon its approval on May 22, 1939.
It aims to provide greater protection to mail and large cattle by imposing higher penalties to deter theft and robbery especially in cases involving mail which is vital for communication and official purposes.