6/9/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly 661 Phil. 127 THIRD DIVISION [ G.R. No. 168651, March 16, 2011 ] PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, VS. EDITH RAMOS ABAT, ACCUSED-APPELLANT. RESOLUTION BERSAMIN, J.: Faced with the real prospect of spending the remainder of her natural life behind bars, the accused appeals the decision promulgated on April 29, 2005,[1]' whereby the Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed her conviction beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of large scale illegal recruitment as defined by Article 13(b) and penalized by Article 39(a), both of the Labor Code, handed down by the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 42, in Dagupan City, sentencing her to suffer life imprisonment and to pay a fine of P100,000.00, and ordering her to reimburse to the four complainants the respective amounts they had paid to the accused on their recruitment.[2] The accused was arraigned and tried under the information dated March 5, 2001, which alleged: That sometime in the months of November and December 2000 in the Municipality of Calasiao, Province of Pangasinan, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused not being a licensee or holder of authority, did then and there, willfully (sic), unlawfully and feloniously undertake and perform recruitment activities in large scale by recruiting MARIA CORAZON AGAS GARCIA, JOCELYN GEMINIANO FLORES, SONNY YABOT y ANTONIO, BALTAZAR ARGEL y VALLEDOR, LETECIA RINONOS MARCELO, PABLITO S. GALUMAN, TARCILA M. UMAGAT, CAROLINE U. CALIX, PERCY C. FUERTES, to a supposed job abroad, particularly in Taiwan, for a fee, without first securing the necessary license or permit to do the same. CONTRARY TO PD 442 as amended by PD 2018. In her appeal, the accused denies having any participation in the recruitment of the nine named complainants for employment in Taiwan, asserting that the CA erred in thus affirming her conviction despite the totality of evidence pointing to no other conclusion than her innocence. She urges the review of the CA's ruling on the credibility of the witnesses in view of the two opposing versions of the facts involved. elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/38252 1/7