6/30/2021 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly Illegal recruitment is committed by a person who: (a) undertakes any recruitment activity defined under Article 13(b) or any prohibited practice enumerated under Articles 34 and 38 of the Labor Code; and (b) does not have a license or authority to lawfully engage in the recruitment and placement of workers.[41] It is committed in large scale when it is committed against three or more persons individually or as a group. Together with R.A. 8042, the law governing illegal recruitment is the Labor Code which, under Article 13(b) thereof defines recruitment and placement as "any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring or procuring workers, and includes referrals, contract services, promising or advertising for employment, locally or abroad, whether for profit or not x x x." The same Code also defines and punishes illegal recruitment, under Articles 38 and 39 which provide: Art. 38. Illegal Recruitment. — (a) Any recruitment activities, including the prohibited practices enumerated under Article 34 of this Code, to be undertaken by nonlicensees or non-holders of authority shall be deemed illegal and punishable under Article 39 of this Code, x x x (b) Illegal recruitment when committed by a syndicate or in large scale shall be considered an offense involving economic sabotage and shall be penalized in accordance with Article 39 hereof. xxx Illegal recruitment is deemed committed in large scale if committed against three (3) or more persons individually or as a group. x x x x Art. 39. Penalties. — (a) The penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) shall be imposed if illegal recruitment constitutes economic sabotage as defined hereinf.] xxxx To prove illegal recruitment, two elements must be shown, namely: (1) the person charged with the crime must have undertaken recruitment activities, or any of the activities enumerated in Article 34 of the Labor Code, as amended; and (2) said person does not have a license or authority to do so. Contrary to accused-appellant Bautista's mistaken notion, therefore, it is not the issuance or signing of receipts for the placement fees that makes a case for illegal recruitment, but rather the undertaking of recruitment activities without the necessary license or authority.[42] Further, to establish that the offense of illegal recruitment was conducted in a large scale, it must be proven that: (1) the accused engaged in acts of recruitment and placement of workers defined under Article 13(b) or in any prohibited activities under Article 34 of the Labor Code; (2) the accused has not complied with the guidelines https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/66754 14/20