Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila
SECOND DIVISION
G.R. No. 132029
July 30, 2004
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee,
vs.
MARIO ALZONA, appellant.
DECISION
AUSTRIA-MARTINEZ, J.:
Before us is the Decision1 of the Court of Appeals dated July 28, 1997 rendered in CA-G.R. CR No. 17228, the dispositive portion of which reads:
WHEREFORE, the joint decision of the trial court finding appellant MARIO ALZONA guilty beyond reasonable doubt of illegal recruitment in
large scale and sentencing him to suffer the penalty of life imprisonment and to pay a fine of P100,000.00 (Criminal Case No. 92-113702)
and estafa (Criminal Case Nos. 92-113706 to 92-113709) is AFFIRMED with modification in the sense that the penalty which should be
imposed upon herein appellant in Criminal Case No. 92-113709 is the indeterminate penalty of 4 years and 2 months of prision
correccional, as minimum, to 9 years of prision mayor, as maximum.
Pursuant to Section 13(2), Rule 124 of the 1985 Rules of Criminal Procedure, as amended, let this case be certified and the entire records
thereof be elevated to the Supreme Court for review.
Costs against the appellant.
SO ORDERED.
On December 4, 1996, an Information for Large Scale Illegal Recruitment against appellant Mario Alzona, docketed as Criminal Case No. 92-113702
and seven Informations for Estafa against appellant and his wife, Miranda Alzona, docketed as Criminal Cases Nos. 92-113703 to 92-113709, were
filed before Branch 1 of the Regional Trial Court of Manila (RTC for brevity). All eight cases were consolidated and jointly tried by the RTC. However,
due to the failure of private complainants to testify and present their evidence, Criminal Cases Nos. 92-113703 to 92-113705 were dismissed but only
as against appellant Mario Alzona.
In Criminal Case No. 92-113702, the Information charges appellant as follows:
That in (sic) or about and during the period comprised between August 2, 1991 and March 30, 1992, inclusive, in the City of Manila,
Philippines, the said accused, representing himself to have the capacity to contract, enlist and transport Filipino workers for employment
abroad, did then and there willfully, and unlawfully, for a fee, recruit and promise employment/job placement abroad to the following
persons, namely: LYDIA C. RAMOS, MELINDA P. GONZALES, MARCELA R. MERCADO, FERNANDO P. DELA CRUZ, LEONARDO C.
MERCURIO, MARIO REGINO P. DECENA and JAMES M. MAZON, without first having secured the required license or authority from the
Department of Labor.
CONTRARY TO LAW.
In Criminal Cases Nos. 92-113706 to 92-113709, the Informations allege that appellant, conspiring and confederating with his wife, Miranda Alzona,
defrauded private complainants Fernando Dela Cruz, James Mazon, Leonardo Mercurio and Mario Regino Decena, by means of false manifestations
and fraudulent representation that they had the power and capacity to recruit and employ the private complainants and could facilitate the processing
of the pertinent papers if given the necessary amount to meet the requirements thereof, and by means of other similar deceits, induced and succeeded