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SC rules receipts not required to prove illegal recruitment

By Benjamin Pulta

April 27, 2022, 4:22 pm

MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that receipts are not necessary to get a conviction in an illegal recruitment case as long as the prosecution's evidence would establish the accused’s guilt.  
 
The SC affirmed with modification the ruling of the Court of Appeals (CA) which affirmed with modifications the March 23, 2018 decision of the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC), convicting Marj Jane Dela Concepcion of simple illegal recruitment and illegal recruitment in large scale. 
 
Dela Concepcion, a.k.a. “Judith A. Valdez”, and “Ofelia Andaya”, promised overseas employment to over 30 persons and received money from them for it.
 
“In accused-appellant’s case, she gave an acknowledgment receipt to one of the private complainants. While the other private complainants did not present receipts, they testified why they believed (the) accused-appellant could deploy them,” the SC in a decision uploaded April 26.   
 
“The absence of receipts in a case for illegal recruitment is not fatal, as long as the prosecution is able to establish through credible testimonial evidence that (the) accused-appellant has engaged in illegal recruitment,” the tribunal added.  
 
Concepcion and certain Vecita Sabacan Villareal were charged with several counts of illegal recruitment committed in large scale under Section 6 of Republic Act No. 8042, or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995.  
 
The Manila RTC found Dela Concepcion guilty of simple illegal recruitment, illegal recruitment committed on a large scale, and estafa. 
 
The CA, in a ruling issued on Aug. 23, 2019, sustained Dela Concepcion’s conviction with modification as to the penalties.  
 
The appellate court found Dela Concepcion guilty of simple illegal recruitment, and was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years of imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of PHP1 million. 
 
The accused-appellant was also found guilty of illegal recruitment in large scale constituting economic sabotage, and was sentenced to suffer the penalty of life imprisonment and was ordered to pay a fine of PHP2 million.  
 
The CA also found Dela Concepcion guilty of estafa and was sentenced to a maximum of one year of imprisonment and directed to indemnify four of the complainants in the total amount of PHP185,000 with 6-percent interest per annum from the finality of the decision. 
 
The SC affirmed the CA ruling but increased the fine to PHP5 million as it found Dela Concepcion guilty of illegal recruitment in large scale constituting economic sabotage. 
 
In upholding the CA decision, the SC did not give merit to the accused-appellant’s claim that she merely extended assistance in processing documents.  
 
It said she received money from the complainants but failed to deploy them for employment abroad.  
 
“Private complainants were never deployed yet (the) accused-appellant did not return the money received. The act of non-reimbursement is included in the definition of illegal recruitment,” it added. 
 
The SC said all the element of illegal recruitment are present in this case, such as lack of valid license or authority required by law to be able to engage in recruitment and placement of workers abroad; the offender undertakes any of the activities within the meaning of “recruitment and placement” under the Labor Code; and offender commits any of the acts of recruitment and placement against three or more persons, individually or as group for large scale illegal recruitment.  
 
The Court said Dela Concepcion admitted collecting fees for medical requirements and Department of Foreign Affairs documents, preparatory to the supposed deployment abroad. 
 
It added she admitted asking for sums of money to process documents despite the lack of necessary license or authority to recruit or send workers abroad. (PNA)
 

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