GR 121179; (July, 1998) (Digest)
G.R. No. 121179 July 2, 1998
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ANTONINE B. SALEY a.k.a. ANNIE B. SALEY, accused-appellant.
FACTS
Accused-appellant Antonine B. Saley was charged with eleven counts of estafa under Article 315, paragraph 2(1) of the Revised Penal Code and six counts of illegal recruitment (five under Article 38 in relation to Article 39 of the Labor Code, and one for illegal recruitment in large scale under Article 38, paragraph 1 of the Labor Code, as amended). The charges stemmed from her representations as a recruiter for overseas employment in Korea. The prosecution presented multiple complainants who testified that they paid appellant substantial amounts for placement fees based on her false representations that she was a duly authorized/licensed recruiter. The complainants, including Francisco Labadchan, Victoria Asil, Cherry Pi-ay, Corazon del Rosario, Arthur Juan, Alfredo Arcega, Brando Salbino, Mariano Damolog, Lorenzo Belino, Peter Arcega, and Adeline Tiangge, were given promises of employment, travel documents, and departure dates, but were ultimately unable to leave or were given forged/defective documents. Appellant pleaded not guilty, jumped bail during trial but was later arrested. The cases were consolidated in the Regional Trial Court of La Trinidad, Benguet, which found her guilty.
ISSUE
The primary issue is whether the Regional Trial Court correctly convicted accused-appellant Antonine B. Saley of eleven counts of estafa and six counts of illegal recruitment.
RULING
The Supreme Court AFFIRMED the conviction but MODIFIED the penalties. The Court found that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that appellant engaged in illegal recruitment and estafa. For illegal recruitment, the elements are: (1) the accused undertook recruitment activities, and (2) she did not have a license or authority from the POEA. For estafa under Article 315(2)(a), the elements are: (1) the accused defrauded another by abuse of confidence or deceit, and (2) damage or prejudice capable of pecuniary estimation is caused. The testimonies of the complainants, corroborated by receipts and documents, established these elements. Appellant’s defense of denial could not overcome the positive testimonies. The Court upheld the trial court’s findings on credibility.
Regarding penalties: For the five counts of simple illegal recruitment, the Court imposed an indeterminate penalty of 4 years and 2 months of prision correccional as minimum to 8 years of prision mayor as maximum for each count. For illegal recruitment in large scale (involving seven persons), the penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of P100,000.00 was imposed. For the eleven counts of estafa, considering the amounts involved and the presence of the aggravating circumstance of craft, fraud, or disguise, the Court imposed the penalty of prision correccional maximum to prision mayor minimum. Using the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the Court set an indeterminate penalty for each estafa count, with the minimum within the range of prision correccional minimum and medium and the maximum within the range of prision mayor minimum and medium. The Court ordered appellant to indemnify the complainants the amounts proven, with legal interest.