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People V Pagalasan
People V Pagalasan
Facts:
Spouses George and Desiree Lim and their three young children, one
of whom was 10-year-old Christopher Neal Lim, resided at Villa
Consuelo Subdivision, General Santos City.The spouses hired a
security guard, Ferdinand Cortez.
When all of their family was at home, Michael Pagalasan together with
3 other men wearing bonnets over their faces and armed with
handguns and grenades ransacked their house getting cash and
valuables. With them was Ferdinand Cortez, whose hands were tied
behind his back. The masked men kidnapped George and Christopher
using George’s Nissan Car, with Pagalasan as the driver.
The MTC found probable cause against Michael, together wth the
other accused, with kidnapping for ransom and violation of PD 1866
before the Municipal Trial Court (MTC) of General Santos City.
Issues:
1. Whether there was a conspiracy to kidnap Christopher
2. Whether Pagalasan liable for Kidnap for ransom
Ruling:
1. The Supreme Court ruled in the affirmative. There is conspiracy
when two or more persons agree to commit a felony and decide
to commit it. The act must be the ordinary and probable effect of
the wrongful acts specifically agreed on, so that the connection
between them may be reasonably apparent, and not a fresh and
independent project of the mind of one of the confederates,
outside of or foreign to the common design, and growing out of
the individual malice of the perpetrator.
Miscellaneous:
1. Judge Learned Hand once called conspiracy “the darling of the
modern prosecutor’s nursery.”