People vs Ortiz-Miyake : 115338-39 : September 16, 1997 : J. Regalado... 7 of 9 http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/1997/sep1997/115338_39.htm Besides, if there was anyone whose testimony needed corroboration, it was appellant as there was nothing in her testimony except the bare denial of the accusations. [34] If appellant really intended to purchase a plane ticket and not to recruit Marasigan, she should have presented evidence to support this claim. Also, in her testimony, appellant named an employee in the travel agency who was allegedly her contact person for the purchase of the ticket. She could have presented that person, or some other employee of the agency, to show that the transaction was merely for buying a ticket. Her failure to do the foregoing acts belies her pretensions. The Court likewise affirms the conviction of appellant for estafa which was committed against Marasigan. Conviction under the Labor Code for illegal recruitment does not preclude punishment under the Revised Penal Code for the felony of estafa. [35] This Court is convinced that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that appellant violated Article 315(2)(a) of the Revised Penal Code which provides that estafa is committed: 2. By means of any of the following false pretenses or fraudulent acts executed prior to or simultaneously with the commission of the fraud: (a) By using fictitious name or falsely pretending to possess power, influence, qualifications, property, credit, agency, business or imaginary transactions, or by means of other similar deceits. The evidence is clear that in falsely pretending to possess power to deploy persons for overseas placement, appellant deceived the complainant into believing that she would provide her a job in Taiwan. Her assurances made Marasigan exhaust whatever resources she had to pay the placement fee required in exchange for the promised job. The elements of deceit and damage for this form of estafa are indisputably present, hence the conviction for estafa in Criminal Case No. 92-6154 should be affirmed. Under the Revised Penal Code, an accused found guilty of estafa shall be sentenced to: x x x The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its minimum period, if the amount of the fraud is over 12,000 but does not exceed 22,000 pesos, and if such amount exceeds the latter sum, the penalty provided in this paragraph shall be imposed in its maximum period, adding one year for each additional 10,000 pesos x x x. [36] The amount involved in the estafa case is P23,000.00. Applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the maximum penalty shall be taken from the maximum period of the foregoing basic penalty, specifically, within the range of imprisonment from six (6) years, eight (8) months and twenty-one (21) days to eight (8) years. On the other hand, the minimum penalty of the indeterminate sentence shall be within the range of the penalty next lower in degree to that provided by law, without considering the incremental penalty for the amount in excess of P22,000.00. [37] That penalty immediately lower in degree is prison correccional in its minimum and medium periods, with a duration of six (6) months and one (1) day to four (4) years and two (2) months. On these considerations, the trial court correctly fixed the minimum and maximum terms of the indeterminate sentence in the estafa case. While we must be vigilant and should punish, to the fullest extent of the law, those who prey upon the desperate with empty promises of better lives, only to feed on their aspirations, we must not be heedless of the basic rule that a conviction may be sustained only where it is for the correct offense and the burden of proof of the guilt of the accused has been met by the prosecution. WHEREFORE, the judgment of the court a quo finding accused-appellant Lanie OrtizMiyake guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crimes of illegal recruitment in large scale 1/24/2016 11:39 PM