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Abella y Buhain
Facts:
Abella and her co-conspirators enlisted and transported Filipinos for jobs abroad and promised
them employment by charging them excess fees without securing required license from DOLE.
Imelda Miguel, as witness, were informed by Abella to get work abroad and Miguel met Abella
in Rofema Business Consultancy (RBC) who offered him a job as laundrywoman in Turkey but
she was required to undergo training and pay a placement fee of P100,000 but she only paid
P30,000.
Miguel was issued certification after training but she was unable to be deployed in Turkey and
her placement fee was not returned.
Marcelino knew Abella through her Co-conspirators who charged her a total of P50,000 and
nothing happened to her application and the amount was not returned.
Callang was recruited by Abella’s agent who promised him a job of laundryman with a salary of
$600 but with placement fee of P65,000 but he only paid P40,000 that was not returned.
Versoza who was under POEA, verified from the database that Abella had no license to recruit
workers for employment abroad and signed a certification to it.
Abella argued that she worked as a cashier at RBC who was an authorized travel agency under
DTI ad she was allowed to receive payments and issue cash vouchers.
The RTC ruled her guilty and she appealed to the CA but CA affirmed RTC.
Issues: W/N Abella and her co-conspirators are guilty of illegal recruitment
Ruling:
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 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 enumerated under Article 34 of the same
Code (now Section 6 of Republic Act No. 8042, otherwise known as the Migrant Workers and Overseas
Filipinos Act of 1995); and (c) the offender committed the same against three or more persons, individually or
as a group. Legal recruitment is deemed committed by a syndicate if carried out by a group of three (3) or
more persons conspiring or confederating with one another. It is deemed committed in large scale if
committed against three (3) or more persons individually or as a group.
The elements of illegal recruitment in large scale are all obtaining in this case and that the prosecution had
sufficiently proved that Abella is guilty of said offense.
The private complainants Miguel, Marcelino, and Callang were positive and categorical in their testimonies
that Abella promised them employment abroad in exchange for their payment of placement fees. Abella
herself provided Miguel with a Certification proving Abella’s registration of the business name RBC; hence,
negating Abella’s claim that RBC is actually owned by another person, Reyes. The private complainants’
testimonies were consistent and corroborative of one another on material points.
DECISION: AFFIRMED