People vs Villas : 112180 : August 15, 1997 : J. Panganiban : Third Div...
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http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/1997/aug1997/112180.htm
THIRD DIVISION
[G.R. No. 112180. August 15, 1997]
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. MILDRED VILLAS y
NIQUE, accused-appellant.
DECISION
PANGANIBAN, J.:
In the main, appellant raises questions of fact. However, she utterly fails to show that the trial
court committed any significant error in assessing the credibility of the prosecution witnesses
and their coherent narration of the corpus of the crime and her authorship thereof, or that said
court overlooked any fact or matter of substance which, if considered on appeal, would cast
reasonable doubt on her guilt. Moreover, she did not substantiate her defense of denial which
thus cannot prevail over the overwhelming testimonial and documentary evidence presented by
the government, vividly demonstrating beyond moral certainty all the elements of the crime
charged and clearly pointing to appellant as the culprit.
Statement of the Case
This is an appeal from the Decision of the Regional Trial Court of Davao City, Branch 16[1]
in Criminal Case No. 22,608-91 finding herein Appellant Mildred Villas y Nique guilty of illegal
recruitment in large scale and imposing on her the penalty of life imprisonment.
Second Assistant City Prosecutor Calixto A. Esparagoza charged Appellant Villas of said
crime in an Information dated April 18, 1991 which reads as follows:[2]
The undersigned accuses the above-named accused for Violation of Articles 38 (a) and 38 (b) in relation to
Article 39 of the Labor Code (P.D. 442, as amended), committed as follows:
That in or about November 1990 to April 1991, in the City of Davao, Philippines, and within the
jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-mentioned accused, purporting herself to have the capacity
to contract, enlist and transport Filipino workers for employment abroad, particularly in Canada, did then
and there wilfully, unlawfully recruit and promise employment/job placement abroad to Alfonsa Acierda,
Teresita Caballero-Villegas, Nenita Balisalisa and Ligaya Rentura, without first securing the required
licensed (sic) and/or authority from the Department of Labor and Employment.
In accordance with the Order dated May 6, 1991 of the trial court, a reinvestigation was
conducted. However, in a Manifestation dated July 3, 1991, Prosecutor I Silverio M. Mandalupe
found probable cause to hold respondent on trial.[3]
Assisted by Counsel de Parte Bernardino Bolcan, Jr.,[4] accused-appellant pleaded not
guilty during the arraignment on July 29, 1991.[5] After trial on the merits, the court a quo
rendered its Decision, the decretal portion of which reads:
WHEREFORE, finding the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of illegal recruitment
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