G.R. No. 175229 6 of 14 http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2009/jan2009/175229.htm A. In Criminal Case No. 00-179745, (1) pronouncing accused GRACE CALIMON guilty beyond reasonable doubt of illegal recruitment in large scale and sentencing said accused to life imprisonment and to pay a fine of P800,000.00; and (2) pronouncing accused AIDA COMILA guilty beyond reasonable doubt of simple illegal recruitment and sentencing said accused to imprisonment from eight (8) to ten (10) years, and to pay a fine of P300,000.00. With costs against the two accused in proportionate shares; B. In Criminal Cases Nos. 00-180519 and 00-180521, pronouncing accused GRACE CALIMON guilty beyond reasonable doubt of two counts of estafa defined under paragraph 2 (a) of Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code, and (1) sentencing said accused in Criminal Case No. 00-180519 to the indeterminate penalty of four (4) years and two (2) months of prision correccional, as minimum, to nine (9) years of prision mayor as maximum; and (2) sentencing said accused in Criminal Case No. 00-180521, to the indeterminate penalty of four (4) years and two (2) months of prision correccional, as minimum, to six (6) years, eight (8) months and twenty (20) days of prision mayor, as maximum; and to pay the costs for each case. C. In Criminal Case No. 00-180520, pronouncing accused GRACE CALIMON and AIDA COMILA guilty beyond reasonable doubt of estafa defined under paragraph 2 (a) Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code, and sentencing each of the said accused to the indeterminate penalty of six (6) months of arresto mayor, as minimum, to two (2) years, eleven (11) months and ten (10) days of prision correccional, as maximum, and to pay the costs in equal shares. In the service of her (accused Aida Comila) sentence in Criminal Case No. 00-179745, and the respective sentences of both accused in Criminal Cases Nos. 00-180519, 00-180520 and 00-180521, inclusive, the period during which they have been under preventive imprisonment should be credited in their favor provided that they agreed voluntarily in writing to abide by the same disciplinary rules imposed upon convicted prisoners, otherwise, they should be credited with four-fifths only of the time they have been under preventive imprisonment. In Criminal Cases Nos. 00-179745, 00-180519 and 00-180521, accused Grace Calimon is ordered to pay to complainants Fe Magnaye and Daisy Devanadera the sums of P35,000.00 and P17,500.00, respectively, as reparations for the damages she caused them. In Criminal Cases Nos. 00-179745 and 00-180520, accused Grace Calimon and accused Aida Comila are ordered, jointly and severally, to pay offended party Lucila C. Agramon the sum of P10,000.00, as reparation for the damages she caused her. SO ORDERED. On appeal, the CA affirmed the Decision of the RTC but with modifications. The CAs reasoning for the modification and the dispositive portion of the CA Decision follow: Summing up, in Criminal Case No. 00-179745, the RTC correctly convicted Calimon of Illegal Recruitment in Large Scale, which is punishable by the maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of One Million Pesos (P1,000,000.00) when the offender is a non-licensee or non-holder of authority to recruit and deploy workers abroad, as in the instant case (Sec. 7, Republic Act No. 8042). Hence, the penalty imposed by the RTC must be modified to life imprisonment and a fine of One Million Pesos (P1,000,000.00). 1/25/2016 5:55 AM