People of the Philippines v. Restituto Carandang G.R. No. 175929.

July 6, 2011

Facts Restituto Carandang, Henry Milan, and Jackman Chua have been previously held guilty of 2 counts of murder and 1 count of frustrated murder by the Regional Trial Court. When the case was brought to the Court of Appeals, it rendered the same decision, affirming that there was conspiracy when the three accused, upon the arrival of PO2 Alonzo and SPO2 Red on the scene of the ensuing drug deal, fired gunshots at the police officers. In his statement, Carandang claims that he had no firearm, and he was only in the house of Milan to talk about his cellphones SIM card. He furthered his argument by saying that the successive gunshots erupted while they, the three accused, remained under the bed. Issue Whether or not there was conspiracy among the appellants in the said killings. Held. Yes. Conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the commission of a felony and decide to commit it. Evidence need not establish the actual agreement among the conspirators showing a preconceived plan or motive for the commission of the crime. Proof of concerted action before, during, and after the crime, which demonstrates their unity of design and objective is sufficient. The act of closing the door, thereby giving Carandang time to move into a more strategic position, and the circumstantial evidences attending the crime, all show the unity of purpose of the minds of the three accused. The threes allegation that the incident happened so rapidly as to not give sufficient time for them to conspire, is to no avail, because conspiracy arises on the very moment the plotters agree to commit the felony. Therefore, the Supreme Court affirms the judgements.