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The principal but basic distinction between these two crimes is that, in Qualified Theft, there is taking of personal property, whereas in Estafa, the offender receives the property and misappropriates it for his own benefit.
Under the provision of Article 310 of the Revised Penal Code, Qualified Theft is a crime of theft or taking, with intent to gain, of a personal property of the owner without the latter’s consent, or lawful possessor thereof, and committed by a domestic servant, or with grave abuse of confidence, or if the property stolen is motor vehicle, mail matter or large cattle or consists of coconuts taken from the premises of the plantation or fish taken from a fishpond or fishery, or if property is taken on the occasion of fire, earthquake, typhoon, volcanic eruption, or any other calamity, vehicular accident or civil disturbance.

However, under the present state of law, when the subject matter is a vehicle, and the same was taken without the consent of its owner, or lawful possessor thereof, carnapping would be the appropriate crime.
In Simple Theft, the penalty, among others, is prisión mayor in its minimum and medium periods, if the value of the thing stolen is more than One million two hundred thousand pesos but does not exceed Two million two hundred thousand pesos; but if the value of the thing stolen exceeds the latter amount, the penalty shall be the maximum period of the one prescribed in this paragraph, and one year for each additional One million pesos, but the total of the penalty which may be imposed shall not exceed twenty years.

On the other hand, the crime of Qualified Theft shall be punished by the penalties next higher by two degrees than those respectively specified in the next preceding article, if committed by a domestic servant, or with grave abuse of confidence, or if the property stolen is motor vehicle, mail matter or large cattle or consists of coconuts taken from the premises of the plantation or fish taken from a fishpond or fishery, or if property is taken on the occasion of fire, earthquake, typhoon, volcanic eruption, or any other calamity, vehicular accident or civil disturbance.

It is at the height of betrayal of trust and confidence when, after accepting and allowing the helper to be a member of the household, thus, entrusting upon such person the protection and safekeeping of the employer’s loved ones and properties, he or she steals from his master or household employer.

Consequently, a subsequent betrayal of that trust is so repulsive as to warrant the necessity of imposing a higher penalty to deter the commission of such wrongful acts.

As regards the crime of estafa, one mode is through issuance of check which subsequently bounced. This is deceit.

Hence, the failure of the drawer of the check to deposit the amount necessary to cover his check within three days from receipt of notice from the bank and/or the payee or holder that said check has been dishonored for lack of insufficiency of funds shall be prima facie evidence of deceit constituting false pretense or fraudulent act.

Another mode of the commission of estafa is thru abuse of confidence. This happens, among others, when the offender feloniously misappropriated and converted said funds for his personal use and benefit.

Thus, it constitutes Estafa as defined and penalized under Article 315, paragraph 1(b) of the Revised Penal Code.

Jurisprudence has consistently held that such Estafa consists of the following elements: (1) the offender has postdated or issued a check in payment of an obligation contracted at the time of the postdating or issuance; (2) at the time of postdating or issuance of said check, the offender has no funds in the bank or the funds deposited are not sufficient to cover the amount of the check; and (3) the payee has been defrauded.”
The fact that the owner puts his trust and confidence upon the offender makes this felony a “qualified” one, but not technically as “Qualified Estafa”, as there is no legal nomenclature for such offense under the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines.
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