Source: http://lawlibrary.chanrobles.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=51732:gr-182232-2008&amp;catid=1510&amp;Itemid=566
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 21:47:40+00:00

Document:
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. NENITA B. HU, Accused-Appellant.
Wherefore, in the light of the foregoing disquisitions, the decision of the Regional Trial Court of Makati City, Branch 66, in Criminal Case No. 03-856, finding appellant Nenita B. Hu, guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime charged, is hereby AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION.
thus in large scale amounting to economic sabotage without any license or authorized by the POEA of the Department of Labor and Employment to recruit workers for an overseas employment.
Upon arraignment, Hu assisted by counsel entered a plea of not guilty while Genoves remained at large.7 Subsequently, trial on the merits ensued. While the Information for illegal recruitment named several persons as having been promised jobs by Hu and Genoves, only four of them - Panguelo, Garcia, Abril and Orillano - - testified.
Genoves worked as a consultant and marketing officer of Brighturn. Aside from her stint at Brighturn, Genoves was also connected with Riverland Consultancy Service (Riverland), another recruitment agency located at Room No. 210, LPL Building, Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City.
Private complainants Orillano, Panguelo, Abril and Garcia sought employment at Brighturn for the positions of factory worker and electronic operator in Taiwan.9 Notwithstanding private complainants' compliance with all of the pre-employment requirements, including the payment of placement fees, they were not able to leave the country to work abroad.
When Hu was not able to refund the amounts paid as placement fees upon demand, private complainants went to NBI to file a complaint for illegal recruitment against Hu and Genoves.
WHEREFORE, the Court finds the accused Nenita Hu guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of illegal recruitment in large scale under Section 6 and 7(b) of Republic Act No. 8042, and, accordingly, sentences the accused to suffer the penalty of life imprisonment, pay the fine of P500,000.00 and to indemnify private complainants Paul Abril in the amount of P44,000.00, Joel Panguelo in the amount of P50,000.00 and Evangeline Garcia in the amount of P50,000.00.
The Court of Appeals, in its Decision17 dated 9 October 2007, confirmed the presence of all the elements of illegal recruitment in large scale, and thereby affirmed the conviction of Hu with the modification that the amount of actual damages awarded to Garcia in the amount of P50,000.00 be deleted.
WHETHER OR NOT THE LOWER COURT ERRED IN FINDING HU GUILTY BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT OF ILLEGAL RECRUITMENT IN LARGE SCALE.
Hu was charged with and convicted by the trial court of the crime of Illegal Recruitment in Large Scale, which conviction was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. The appellate court found that Hu made enticing, albeit empty promises, which moved private complainants to part with their money and pay the placement fee.
We cannot sustain the conviction for illegal recruitment in large scale.
Regrettably, we cannot affirm the conviction of Hu for the offense of illegal recruitment in large scale. While we strongly condemn the pervasive proliferation of illegal job recruiters and syndicates preying on innocent people anxious to obtain employment abroad, nevertheless, we find the pieces of evidence insufficient to prove the guilt of Hu beyond reasonable doubt. It is unfortunate that the prosecution evidence did not pass the test of reasonable doubt, since the testimonies of its witnesses unveil a contradicting inference - - that the recruitment of Panguelo, Abril and Orillano was undertaken by Hu with the required authority from the POEA.
Failure of the prosecution to prove the guilt of Hu beyond reasonable doubt does not absolve her of her civil obligation to return the money she collected from private complaints Panguelo, Abril and Orillano, plus legal interest in accordance with our ruling in Domagsang v. Court of Appeals.29 There, the prosecution failed to sufficiently establish a case to warrant a conviction, but clearly proved a just debt owed to the private complainant. Thus, the accused was ordered to pay the face value of the check with 12% legal interest per annum, reckoned from the filing of the information until the finality of the judgment. It is well settled that acquittal based on reasonable doubt does not preclude an award for civil damages. The judgment of acquittal extinguishes the liability of the accused only when it includes a declaration that the facts from which the civil liability might arise did not exist. Thus, civil liability is not extinguished where the acquittal is based on lack of proof beyond reasonable doubt, since only preponderance of evidence is required in civil cases. There appears to be no sound reason to require that a separate action be still filed considering that the facts to be proved in the civil case have already been established in the criminal proceedings.30 In the present case, the prosecution explicitly proved that private complainants parted with substantial amounts of money upon the prodding and enticement of Hu on the false pretense that she had the capacity to deploy them for employment abroad. In the end, private complainants were not able to leave for work abroad or get their money back.
Neither does her acquittal herein exempt Hu from subsequent criminal prosecution for estafa31 provided that deceit, which is an essential element of estafa, be proven by the prosecution.32 Apparently, Hu deluded private complainants into believing that she had the capacity to send them abroad for employment. Through this hoax, she was able to convince private complainants to surrender their money to her in the vain hope, as it turned out, of securing employment abroad.
This leaves us a case of simple illegal recruitment committed against Garcia.
Garcia testified that she applied for employment in Taiwan for the position of Electronic Operator thru Brighturn in April 2002. Due to the alleged suspension of Brighturn's license, Hu referred her to a neighboring agency (Best One), but Hu continued collecting placement fees from her.
The act of referral, which means the act of passing along or forwarding an applicant after an initial interview to a selected employer, placement or bureau, is included in recruitment.33 Undoubtedly, the act of Hu in referring Garcia to another recruitment agency squarely fell within the purview of recruitment that was undertaken by Hu after her authority to recruit and place workers already expired on 17 December 2001.
Irrefragably, the prosecution has proven beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of Hu of the charge of illegal recruitment against Garcia when the former referred the latter to another agency without the license or authority to do so. The trial court gave full credence to the testimony of Garcia, which unmistakably demonstrated how Hu successfully enticed her to part with a considerable amount of money in exchange for an employment abroad which was never realized. This finding was adopted by the appellate court, considering that that the trial court was in the best position to ascertain credibility issues, having heard the witnesses themselves and observed their deportment and manner of testifying during trial.
Neither is there merit in the contention of the defense that appellant should be exonerated for failure of the prosecution to present any receipt proving that private complainants paid her anything. The defense argues that a receipt is the best evidence to prove delivery of money and the absence thereof shows that no payment was made.
"x x x the absence of receipts in a criminal case for illegal recruitment does not warrant the acquittal of the accused and is not fatal to the case of the prosecution. As long as the witnesses had positively shown through their respective testimonies that the accused is the one involved in the prohibited recruitment, he may be convicted of the offense despite the want of receipts.
"The Statute of Frauds and the rules of evidence do not require the presentation of receipts in order to prove the existence of recruitment agreement and the procurement of fees in illegal recruitment cases. The amounts may consequently be proved by the testimony of witnesses."
The private complainants have convincingly testified that the accused enticed them to apply and, in actual fact, received payments from them. And to these testimonies, the trial court accorded credence. On the other hand, appellant has not shown any reason to justify a modification or reversal of the trial court's finding.
Our ruling in People v. Villas36 that the absence of receipts in illegal recruitment case does not warrant the acquittal of the accused has been reiterated in several cases.37 We are not unaware of the proliferation of these scheming illegal recruiters who cunningly rob Filipino workers, desperate to work abroad, of their money in exchange of empty promises. This Court cannot be drawn to the ingenious ploy of these illegal recruiters in withholding receipts from their victims in their vain attempt to evade liability.
In fine, the Court will have to discard the conviction for illegal recruitment in large scale meted out by the RTC, since only one applicant abroad was recruited by Hu without license and authority from the POEA. Accordingly, Hu should be held responsible for simple illegal recruitment only. Hu's unsuccessful indictment for illegal recruitment in large scale, however, does not discharge her from her civil obligation to return the placement fees paid by private complainants.
Under Section 7(a) of Republic Act No. 8042,38 simple illegal recruitment is punishable by imprisonment of not less than six (6) years and one (1) day but not more than twelve years and a fine of not less than two hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00) nor more than five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00).
Section 1 of the Indeterminate Sentence Law provides that if the offense is punishable by a special law, as in this case, the court shall impose on the accused an indeterminate sentence, the maximum term of which shall not exceed the maximum fixed by the said law and the minimum of which shall not be less than the minimum term prescribed by the same. Accordingly, a penalty of eight (8) to twelve (12) years of imprisonment should be meted out to Hu. In addition, a fine in the amount of P500,000.00; and indemnity to private complainants - - Abril in the amount of P44,000.00, Panguelo in the amount of P50,000.00, Garcia in the amount of P60,000.00 and Orillano in the amount of P50,000.00, with 12% legal interest per annum, reckoned from the filing of the information until the finality of the judgment - is imposed.
WHEREFORE, IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, the instant petition is PARTIALLY GRANTED. The Decision dated 9 October 2007 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R.-CR.-H.C. No. 02243 affirming the conviction of the accused-appellant Nenita B. Hu for the offense of Illegal Recruitment in Large Scale and sentencing her to life imprisonment is hereby VACATED. A newDecision is hereby entered convicting the accused-appellant of the offense of Simple Illegal Recruitment committed against private complainant Evangeline Garcia. She is sentenced to suffer the indeterminate penalty of eight (8) years to twelve (12) years of imprisonment. She is ordered to pay a fine in the amount of P500,000.00 and to indemnify private complainant Evangeline Garcia in the amount of P60,000.00, with 12% interest per annum, reckoned from the filing of the information until the finality of the judgment.
Accused-appellant Nenita B. Hu is likewise ordered to indemnify private complainants Paul Abril in the amount of P44,000.00, Joel Panguelo in the amount of P50,000.00, and Eric Orillano in the amount of P50,000.00,with 12% interest per annum, as reckoned above.
1 Penned by Associate Justice Jose L. Sabio with Associate Justices Noel G. Tijam and Myrna Dimaranan Vidal, concurring; rollo, pp. 2-21.
2 Penned by Judge Rommel O. Baybay.
3 Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995.
6 Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995.
7 CA rollo, p 20.
8 TSN, 17 March 2005, pp. 4-8.
9 CA rollo, pp. 20-22.
10 TSN, 11 March 2004, pp. 1-28.
11 TSN, 4 March 2004, pp. 1-28.
12 TSN, 15 April 2004, pp. 1-21.
13 TSN, 25 March 2004, pp. 1-28.
14 TSN, 17 March 2005, pp. 1-17.
16 CA rollo, pp. 20-25.
19 People v. Gutierrez, 466 Phil. 609, 622 (2004).
20 Article 13(b) of the Labor Code of the Philippines.
22 People v. De la Piedra, 403 Phil. 31, 58 (2001).
23 People v. Corpuz, 459 Phil. 100, 112 (2003).
Witness: Yes, sir. I applied in one of the agency in Brighturn.
A. As factory worker, sir.
A: I gave her Forty-four thousand pesos sir.
A: Riverland Consultancy in LPL Bldg. In Gil Puyat, Makati City.
A: She told me that I'll be sent abroad to work as a factory worker in Taiwan.
A: Fifty Thousand Pesos (Php 50,000.00).
Orillano, on 15 April 2004, likewise testified in open court that the alleged recruitment was undertaken by Hu in October 2001.
A: No sir, only after the incident happened.
A: When I was victimized by illegal recruitment, sir.
A: Medical Certificate, picture, and NBI.
A: After the submission of the documents, we were required to pay a placement fee.
A: To Ms. Ethel Genoves, sir.
26 344 Phil. 598, 608-609 (1997).
27 Amended by Republic Act No. 8042.
29 400 Phil. 846, 858 (2000).
30 Rico v. People, 440 Phil. 540, 555 (2002).
32 People v. Gallardo, 436 Phil. 698, 716 (2002).
33 Rodolfo v. People, G.R. No. 146964, 10 August 2006, 498 SCRA 377, 386.
34 People v. Dujua, 466 Phil. 775, 786 (2004).
35 G.R. No. 112180, 15 August 1997, 277 SCRA 406.
37 People v. Gomez, 381 Phil. 870, 884 (2000); People v. Villas, id.; People v. Billaber, 465 Phil. 726, 743 (2004); People v. Sagaydo, 395 Phil. 538, 549 (2000); People v. Dujua, supra note 34; People v. Jamilosa, G.R. No. 169076, 23 January 2007, 512 SCRA 340, 352.
38 Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995.

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