FIRST DIVISION [G.R. No. 123906. March 27, 1998] PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ROWENA HERMOSO BENEDICTUS, accused-appellant. DECISION DAVIDE, JR., J.: In an informationi[1] 1 filed on 20 October 1993 before the Regional Trial Court of Malolos, Bulacan, and assigned to Branch 76 thereof, the accused-appellant was charged with the crime of illegal recruitment under Article 38 in relation to Articles 34 and 39 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended, allegedly committed as follows: That in or about the month of December, 1992, in the municipality of Malolos, province of Bulacan, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, a non-licensee or non-holder of authority from the Department of Labor and Employment to recruit and/or place workers under local or overseas employment, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously, with false pretenses, undertake illegal recruitment activities, placement or deployment for a fee of Napoleon dela Cruz, Ernesto Vasquez, Evangeline Magpayo, Crisanta Vasquez, Evelyn de Dios and Mercy Magpayo for overseas employment. Contrary to law. Upon arraignment, the appellant entered a plea of not guilty. At the trial on the merits, the prosecution presented as witnesses the complaining victims Napoleon de la Cruz, Crisanta Vasquez, Evelyn de Dios, Mercy Magpayo, and Evangeline Magpayo, as well as Barangay Captain Emerlito Calara. The defense had only the appellant as its witness. The Office of the Solicitor General summarized in the Appellees Briefii[2] the evidence for the prosecution as follows: On December 15, 1992, complainants Napoleon de la Cruz, Crisanta Vasquez, Evelyn de Dios, Mercy [Magpayo] and Evangeline Magpayo met appellant in the house of Crisanta Vasquez located at Bambang, Bulacan. There, appellant told them that she was recruiting workers for deployment in Taiwan. She promised them that they would be sent to Taiwan on January 15, 1993. Napoleon dela