Conspiracy CANNOT be presumed, not merely inferred

Where conspiracy is directly established, with proof of the attendant deliberation and selection of the method, time and means of executing the crime, the existence of evident premeditation can be taken for granted. However, where no such evidence exists, and where conspiracy is merely inferred from the acts of the accused in the perpetration of the crime, as in the case at bar, the above requisites of evident premeditation need to be established. (People vs. Mondijar; G.R. No. 141194, 21 November 2002, 392 SCRA 356)