Short answer. Under Article 52 of the Revised Penal Code, an accomplice in a consummated crime receives the penalty next lower in degree than the penalty prescribed for the completed offense. The principal receives the full prescribed penalty; the accomplice, whose role is secondary, receives one degree less.
What the law says
The penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for the consummated felony shall be imposed upon the accomplices in the commission of a consummated felony.
Revised Penal Code, Article 52 — Penalty For Accomplices In A Consummated Crime. Read the full provision →
One degree below the principal's penalty
Article 52 of the Revised Penal Code fixes the accomplice's penalty at one degree lower than what the law prescribes for the consummated offense. The penalty scale of the Code is an ordered ladder — from reclusion perpetua at the top, down through reclusion temporal, prisión mayor, prisión correccional, arresto mayor, to arresto menor at the bottom. The accomplice's penalty is the degree immediately below the principal's. This single-degree reduction is the uniform rule for all consummated felonies; it does not vary by the severity of the offense.
What makes someone an accomplice rather than a principal
The distinction between principal and accomplice turns on indispensability. Principals are those who directly execute the crime, induce or force others to commit it, or cooperate in it in such a way that without their participation the crime could not have been committed. Accomplices cooperate with the principal — they assist, encourage, or provide some kind of support — but their contribution is not indispensable. Remove the accomplice and the crime still happens; remove the principal and it does not. That lesser role is what Article 52 recognizes with the one-degree penalty reduction.
A practical illustration
Consider a felony punishable by reclusion temporal (twelve years and one day to twenty years). The principal in a consummated crime receives reclusion temporal. The accomplice, under Article 52, receives the penalty next lower — prisión mayor, spanning six years and one day to twelve years. Compare this to an accessory in the same consummated crime: the accessory receives two degrees lower than the consummated penalty — prisión correccional (six months and one day to six years). Principal, accomplice, and accessory each occupy progressively lighter penalty bands for the same underlying offense.
The Indeterminate Sentence Law applies
Once the applicable penalty band is determined — the degree next lower than the consummated offense's penalty — the Indeterminate Sentence Law governs how the court fixes the actual prison term. The law requires the court to impose a sentence with both a minimum and a maximum: the minimum falls within the penalty one degree lower than the accomplice's penalty, and the maximum falls within the accomplice's penalty range. Mitigating and aggravating circumstances are taken into account in setting the penalty within the applicable range before the Indeterminate Sentence Law is applied.