Article 38 of the Labor Code renders illegal all recruitment activities without the necessary license or authority from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. Art. 38 of the Labor Code provides Article 38. Illegal Recruitment. - (a) Any recruitment activities, including the prohibited practices enumerated under Article 34 of this Code, to be undertaken by non-licensees or nonholders of authority shall be deemed illegal and punishable under Article 39 of this Code. The Ministry of Labor and Employment (now Department of Labor and Employment) or any law enforcement officer may initiate complaints under this Article. (b) Illegal Recruitment when committed by a syndicate or in large scale shall be considered an offense involving economic sabotage and shall be penalized in accordance with Article 39 hereof. Illegal recruitment is deemed committed by a syndicate if carried out by a group of three (3) or more persons conspiring and/or confederating with one another in carrying out any unlawful or illegal transaction, enterprise or scheme defined under the first paragraph hereof. Illegal recruitment is deemed committed in large scale if committed against three (3) or more persons individually or as a group. x x x Thus, if the illegal recruitment is committed by a syndicate or in large scale, the Labor Code considers it an offense involving economic sabotage and imposes a stiffer penalty therefor in accordance with Article 39 of the Labor Code. The elements of illegal recruitment in large scale are: (1) the accused undertakes any recruitment activity defined under Art. 13, par. (b), or any prohibited practice enumerated under Art. 34 of the Labor Code; (2) he does not have a license or authority to lawfully engage in the recruitment and placement of workers; and, (3) he commits the same against three (3) or more persons, individually or as a group.xv[15] Indisputably, all three (3) elements exist in the case at bar. First, the complaining witnesses have satisfactorily established that appellant had actively promised them employment, gave assurance of their placement overseas, and with his co-accused received certain sums as fees therefor. Second, the Licensing Division of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration issued a Certification dated March 1, 1993 that JAWOH GENERAL MERCHANDISINGxvi[16] represented by Irene Yabut and Fernando Cortez are neither licensed nor authorized by the POEA to recruit workers for overseas employment.xvii[17] In fact, the defense even entered into a stipulation during trial that appellant is not authorized by the POEA to recruit overseas workers.xviii[18] Third, appellant and co-accused undertook recruitment of not less than eight (8) workers complainants herein, who were recruited individually on different occasions. For purposes of illegal recruitment, however, the law makes no distinction whether the workers were recruited as a group or individually. There is no showing that any of the complainants had ill-motive to testify falsely against appellant. And it is generally observed that it is against human nature and experience for strangers to conspire and accuse another stranger of a most serious crime just to mollify their