6/9/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly for purposes of deployment, in cases where the deployment does not actually take place without the worker's fault." Ochoa committed illegal recruitment as described in the said provision by receiving placement and medical fees from private complainants, evidenced by the receipts issued by her, and failing to reimburse the private complainants the amounts they had paid when they were not able to leave for Taiwan and Saudi Arabia, through no fault of their own. Ochoa further argues in her defense that she should not be found personally and criminally liable for illegal recruitment because she was a mere employee of AXIL and that she had turned over the money she received from private complainants to AXIL. We are not convinced. Ochoa's claim was not supported by any corroborating evidence. The POEA verification dated September 23, 1998, also signed by Dir. Mateo, and presented by Ochoa during trial, pertains only to the status of AXIL as a placement agency with a "limited temporary authority" which had already expired. Said verification did not show whether or not Ochoa was employed by AXIL. Strangely, for an alleged employee of AXIL, Ochoa was not able to present the most basic evidence of employment, such as appointment papers, identification card (ID), and/or payslips. The receipts presented by some of the private complainants were issued and signed by Ochoa herself, and did not contain any indication that Ochoa issued and signed the same on behalf of AXIL. Also, Ochoa was not able to present any proof that private complainants' money were actually turned over to or received by AXIL. There is no reason for us to disturb the weight and credence accorded by the RTC to the evidence of the prosecution, over that of the defense. As is well-settled in this jurisdiction, greater weight is given to the positive identification of the accused by the prosecution witnesses than the accused's denial and explanation concerning the commission of the crime.[51] Likewise, factual findings of the trial courts, including their assessment of the witnesses' credibility, are entitled to great weight and respect by the Supreme Court, particularly when the Court of Appeals affirmed such findings. After all, the trial court is in the best position to determine the value and weight of the testimonies of witnesses. The absence of any showing that the trial court plainly overlooked certain facts of substance and value that, if considered, might affect the result of the case, or that its assessment was arbitrary, impels the Court to defer to the trial court's determination according credibility to the prosecution evidence.[52] Moreover, in the absence of any evidence that the prosecution witnesses were motivated by improper motives, the trial court's assessment of the credibility of the witnesses shall not be interfered with by this Court.[53] Under the last paragraph of Section 6 of Republic Act No. 8042, illegal recruitment shall be considered an offense involving economic sabotage if committed in a large scale, that is, committed against three or more persons individually or as a group. Here, there are eight private complainants who convincingly testified on Ochoa's acts of illegal recruitment. In view of the overwhelming evidence presented by the prosecution, we uphold the verdict of the RTC, as affirmed by the Court of Appeals, that Ochoa is guilty of illegal recruitment constituting economic sabotage. elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/26427 15/23