People v.
Delos Reyes ISSUE/S: WON the lower courts erred in finding Reyes guilty of large scale illegal recruitment.
G.R. No. 198795
By: Porta
Topic: Illegal Recruitment.
PETITIONER/S: People of the Philippines.
RESPONDENT/S: Merceditas Matheus y Delos Reyes (Reyes).
DOCTRINE: The offense of illegal recruitment in large scale has the following elements: (1) the person
charged undertook any recruitment activity as defined under Section 6 of RA 8042; (2) accused did not
have the license or the authority to lawfully engage in the recruitment of workers; and, (3) accused
committed the same against three or more persons individually or as a group.
FACTS:
 Reyes was charged with 6 counts of Estafa under Art. 315 (2)(a) of the RPC, and 1 count of
Large Scale Illegal Recruitment under RA 8042 by Suratos, Guillarte, Alayon, Bagay, Jr.,
Duldulao, and Gloria.
 Suratos’ Story:
o 15 January 2003: Suratos went to an office in Cubao where she met Reyes who
promised her a job as a caretaker.
 She returned to Reyes’ office a month later.
 Reyes gave Suratos a machine copy of her visa to prove that there was
a good job waiting for her in Cyprus and that he would leave in 3
months.
 Consequently, Suratos gave Reyes an amount totaling Php 55,000,
inclusive of her passport and medical examination report.
o 3 months have lapsed, and Suratos grew suspicious.
 She demanded the return of her money, but Reyes simply told her to
wait.
o Another month has passed, and Suratos has learned that Reyes had already been
detained, and that she could no longer be sent abroad.
 Alayon’s Story:
o March 2003: Alayon met Reyes at the All Care Travel Agency in Cubao.
o Reyes offered her a job in Cyprus as part of the laundry staff and the former asked
for Php 55,000, to submit her resume, and transcript of records, and promised to
deploy her by June.
o When Alayon returned to Reyes, she learned that the latter had already been
arrested by the police.
 Duldao’s Story:
o Reyes promised a tourist visa for Spain in exchange for Php 45,000.
o When he returned, Reyes has already been arrested by the police.
 Bagay, Jr.’s Story:
o Reyes offered him a job as a dentist in London.
o She asked for an initial payment of Php 30,000, and assured Bagay that he would
be deployed in 3 months.
o When he returned, he learned that Reyes had already been detained.
 Guillarte’s Story:
o She was promised work as a hotel staff member in Cyprus by Reyes.
o Reyes asked for Php 55,000 as full payment for her deployment abroad.
 The promise of deployment never materialized.
 Reyes testified that she was not in the country until June 2003; therefore, she has never met
the complainants. She also admitted that she has no license to recruit workers for overseas
employment.
 RTC: Reyes is guilty of large scale illegal recruitment, and 5 counts of estafa.
 CA: Affirmed.
RULING: NO.
 The offense of illegal recruitment in large scale has the following elements: (1) the person
charged undertook any recruitment activity as defined under Section 6 of RA 8042; (2)
accused did not have the license or the authority to lawfully engage in the recruitment of
workers; and, (3) accused committed the same against three or more persons individually
or as a group.
o All of these are present.
 First, the RTC found Reyes to have undertaken recruitment activity when she promised the
private complainants overseas employment for a fee. This factual finding was affirmed by
the CA.
o Reyes, in fact, had stipulated at pre-trial that not only did she know private
complainants, she also received money from them for their deployment abroad,
as she even issued receipts to them. At any rate, absence of receipts cannot
defeat a criminal prosecution for illegal recruitment.
o Illegal recruiters need not even expressly represent themselves to the victims as
persons who can send workers abroad. It is enough that these recruiters give the
impression that they can enlist workers for job placement abroad in order to
induce the latter to tender payment of fees.
 Second, the March 1, 2004 Certification issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration unmistakably reveals that the accused-appellant neither had a license nor
authority to recruit workers for overseas employment. Notably, instead of assailing the
certification, she admitted during the pre-trial that she did not have a license or authority to
lawfully engage in recruitment and placement of workers.
 Third, it was established that there were five complainants, i.e., Suratos, Guillarte, Alayon,
Bagay, Jr., and Duldulao.
o Private complainants' individual testimonies were so replete with details on how
appellant convincingly, albeit deceptively, enticed them to pay all her demands
in case, how she provided for their fake documents, and how she manipulated
their thoughts and dreams for a better life, ending up in the cruel realization that
she was nothing but a fraud.
DISPOSITIVE: WHEREFORE, premises considered, the March 7, 2011 Decision of the Court of Appeals in
CA-G.R. CR H.C. No. 03737, which affirmed the November 26, 2008 Joint Decision of the Regional Trial
Court, Branch 218 of Quezon City, in Criminal Case Nos. Q-03-119663-69, finding appellant Merceditas
Matheus y Delos Reyes GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of five counts of Estafa and one count of Large
Scale Illegal Recruitment under R.A. No. 8042, otherwise known as Migrant Workers and Overseas
Filipino Act of 1995 is hereby AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION.