People v. Del Rosario

Summary

This 1939 Supreme Court case involved Alfredo del Rosario's conviction for murder committed for hire. Del Rosario and two companions agreed to attack Filemon Amad for P10. During the planned attack, one companion fatally stabbed Filemon with a file when he appeared to reach for a weapon. The Supreme Court affirmed the murder conviction, holding del Rosario criminally liable despite not personally inflicting the fatal wound, as the killing was an incident of their criminal conspiracy. The Court applied Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code, qualifying the murder by the circumstance of price consideration. The decision established important precedent on criminal liability in conspiracy cases, affirming that co-conspirators are liable for reasonably foreseeable consequences of their criminal agreement. The indemnity was reduced from P2,000 to P1,000 due to the retroactive application principle.