Estafa and Illegal Recruitment Article 315 (2) (A)
Estafa and Illegal Recruitment Article 315 (2) (A)
Estafa and Illegal Recruitment Article 315 (2) (A)
enumerated under Article 34 and Article 38 of the Labor Code; and (b) does not
have a license or authority to lawfully engage in the recruitment and placement of
workers. It is committed in large scale when it is committed against three or
more persons individually or as a group
As such, the CA properly affirmed the conviction of the accused-appellant by the
RTC for illegal recruitment committed in large scale because she had committed
acts of recruitment against at least three persons (namely: Canizares, Dahab, and
Miparanum) despite her not having been duly licensed or authorized by the
Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) for that purpose
The accused-appellant's insistence on her very limited participation in the
recruitment did not advance or help her cause any because the State established
her having personally promised foreign employment either as hotel porters or
seafarers to the complainants despite her having no license or authority to recruit
from the POEA. The records made it clear enough that her participation was
anything but limited, for she herself had accompanied them to their respective
medical examinations at their own expense.
Yes, accused is guilty of estafa under Article 315 (2) (a). The elements of estafa
are: (a) that the accused defrauded another by abuse of confidence or by means of
deceit, and (b) that damage or prejudice capable of pecuniary estimation is caused
to the offended party or third person. These elements were proven in this case. By
means of deceit, appellant made complainants believe that she had the proper
authority to send them to work in Australia and Korea, for which reason they gave
her substantial amounts of money. Appellant clearly misled the complainants who
believed she had the power to send them to work in Australia and Korea. They
were required to submit their bio-data and passports, and were asked to give
substantial amounts of money for the processing of their visas and other documents
necessary for deployment. Efforts to recover their money after they were not
deployed for the promised work abroad failed resulting to monetary damages on
their part.
(2)
Yes, accused is guilty of illegal recruitment in large scale.
To constitute illegal recruitment in large scale, three elements must concur: (a) the
offender has no valid license or authority required by law to enable him to lawfully
engage in recruitment and placement of workers; (b) the offender undertakes any
of the activities within the meaning of "recruitment and placement" under Article
13 (b) of the Labor Code,or any of the prohibited practices under Article 34 of the
said Code (now Section 6 of RA 8042); and (c) the offender committed the same
against three or more persons, individually or as a group
Article 13 (b) of the Labor Code defines recruitment and placement as "any act
of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring or procuring
workers; and includes referrals, contract services, promising or advertising for
employment, locally or abroad, whether for profit or not." In the simplest terms,
illegal recruitment is committed by persons who, without authority from the
government, give the impression that they have the power to send workers
abroad for employment purposes.
The elements of illegal recruitment in large scale were proven in this case. One,
appellant has no valid license or authority to engage in recruitment and placement
of workers. The Labor and Employment Officer of the POEA confirmed that based
on the records of their office, appellant and Florida Travel and Tours were not
licensed to recruit workers for deployment abroad. Two, appellant clearly engaged
in recruitment activities and promised employment abroad to the complainants as