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654 Phil. 24
THIRD DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 176264, January 10, 2011 ]
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, APPELLEE, VS. TERESITA "TESSIE"
LAOGO, APPELLANT.
DECISION
VILLARAMA, JR., J.:
This petition assails the July 31, 2006 Decision[1] of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CAG.R. CR.-H.C. No. 01664, which affirmed the Decision[2] of the Regional Trial Court
(RTC), Branch 12, of Malolos, Bulacan in Criminal Case No. 693-M-2001. The RTC found
appellant Teresita "Tessie" Laogo guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of illegal
recruitment in large scale.
Appellant Teresita "Tessie" Laogo was the proprietor and manager of Laogo Travel
Consultancy, a travel agency firm located along Padre Faura Street in Manila. On March
7, 2001, an Information[3] was filed against appellant and a certain Susan Navarro
(Susan) in Malolos, Bulacan charging them of the crime of Illegal Recruitment (Large
Scale). The information reads:
INFORMATION
The undersigned Asst. Provincial Prosecutor accuses Susan Navarro and
Tessie [Teresita] Laogo of the crime of illegal recruitment, penalized under
Art. 38 in relation to Art[s]. 34 and 39 of the Labor Code of the Philippines,
as amended by Presidential Decree No. 1412, committed as follows:
That in or about and during the months of May and June 2000, in the
municipality of Bulacan, province of Bulacan, Philippines, and within the
jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, knowing that
they are non-licensee or non-holder of authority from the Department of
Labor to recruit and/or place workers in employment either locally or
overseas, conspiring, confederating together and helping each other, did
then and there wi[l]lfully, unlawfully and feloniously engage in illegal
recruitment, placement or deployment activities for a fee, which they
received from complainants Edith Bonifacio-Ulanday, Rogelio Enriquez y
Buenavidez, Billy dela Cruz, Jr. y Fernandez, Dante Lopez y Enriquez,
Teodulo dela Cruz y Mendoza, Edwin Enriquez y Panganiban and Gary
Bustillos y de Guzman by recruiting and promising them job placement
abroad, more particularly in Guam, which did not materialize, without first
having secured the required license or authority from the Department of
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