4/13/2021 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly Recruitment, under Article 13(b) of the Labor Code, is defined as any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring or procuring workers, and includes referrals, contract services, promising or advertising for employment, locally or abroad, whether for profit or not: Provided, that any person or entity which, in any manner, offers or promises for a fee, employment to two or more persons shall be deemed engaged in recruitment and placement.[34] Under Article 38 of the Labor Code, Illegal Recruitment is defined as any act of recruitment undertaken by unlicensed or unauthorized persons. With the amendments introduced by RA 8042, Illegal Recruitment may be committed even by POEA-licensed recruiters or agencies, who commit any of the prohibited acts under Section 6[35] of RA 8042. The Court notes that RA 8042 was amended on March 8, 2010 by RA 10022[36] or An Act Amending RA 8042. However, as the acts in this case were committed in 2007-2008, RA 8042 is the relevant law that applies. Herein accused Rios was charged and convicted of the Illegal Recruitment as penalized under Section 6(m) of the law: SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. — x x x [I]llegal recruitment x x x shall likewise include the following acts, whether committed by any person, whether a non-licensee, non-holder, licensee or holder of authority. xxxx (m) Failure to reimburse expenses incurred by the worker in connection with his documentation and processing for purposes of deployment, in cases where the deployment does not actually take place without the worker's fault. Illegal recruitment when committed by a syndicate or in large scale shall be considered as offense involving economic sabotage. Section 6(m) of RA 8042 pertains to Illegal Recruitment committed through the failure of any person (whether or not a holder of license or authority) to reimburse documentation and processing expenses incurred by the worker when the deployment did not occur without the worker's fault. This provision also defines Syndicated Illegal Recruitment as being committed by three or more persons and Illegal Recruitment in Large Scale as being committed against three or more persons. Rios was convicted in her capacity as president and general manager of Green Pastures, Inc. While corporate officers are generally not held personally liable for corporate acts as corporations have separate and distinct legal personality from the persons comprising it, they may be found liable when a specific provision of law makes them personally liable for a corporate action.[37] This is the case here as the last paragraph of Section 6 of RA 8042 specifically provides that when Illegal Recruitment is committed by a juridical entity, the persons liable shall be the officers having control, management or direction of the business. In Heirs of Fe Tan Uy v. International Exchange Bank,[38] the Court provided the requisites for personal liability to attach to a director or officer for corporate acts: https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/66232 10/29