G. R. No. 178337 2 of 21 http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2009/june2009/178337.htm charged Ritualo with the crimes of Illegal Recruitment defined and penalized by Republic Act No. 8042; and Estafa under Art. 315, par. 2(a) of the Revised Penal Code, respectively. The accusatory portion of the first Information reads as follows: That on or about the 1st day of May, 2000, in the City of Las Pias, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above named accused, falsely representing herself to have the capacity and power to contract, enlist and recruit workers for employment abroad, did then and there willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously collect for a fee, recruit and promise employment/job placement abroad to Felix Biacora without first securing the required license or authority from the Department of Labor and [5] Employment. The one for Estafa states, viz: That during the periods (sic) from May 1, 2000 to June 1, 2000, in the City of Las Pias, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above named accused, with intent of gain, by means of false pretenses or fraudulent acts executed prior to or simultaneously with the commission of the fraud, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously defraud the Complainant Felix Biacora amounting to P80,000.00 committed in the following manner to wit: that the Accused represented to the Complainant that she was authorized or licensed by the Department of Labor and Employment to recruit workers for overseas employment and that she could send Complainant to work abroad (Australia) as farm worker as soon as possible, knowing very well that such representation is false and was intended only to get money from the Complainant and the Complainant after relying from the said representations made by the accused, handed to the accused the said amount and the accused, once in possession of the money, misappropriated, misapplied and converted the same for her personal use and benefit, and not withstanding repeated demands failed and refused to pay the said amount of P80,000.00 to the damage [6] and prejudice of the Complainant in the aforementioned amount of P80,000.00. The foregoing were docketed as Criminal Cases No. 01-0076 and No. 0077 and raffled to Branch 275 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Las Pias City. Upon arraignment on 24 May 2001, petitioner Ritualo, duly assisted by counsel de [7] oficio, pleaded Not Guilty to the crimes charged. On 26 May 2003, during the joint trial of the cases, petitioner Ritualo orally manifested in open court that earnest efforts were being undertaken to settle the civil aspect thereof. Thus, with the conformity of the accused, herein petitioner Ritualo, coupled with [8] the latters express waiver apropos the attachment of double jeopardy, the RTC ordered the provisional dismissal of the two cases. 1/28/2016 11:03 AM