4/16/2021 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly accused-appellant's house on August 15, 1994 and paid her an additional amount of P35,000.00. Again, no receipt was issued to him. Thereafter, accused-appellant took him to Mandarin Hotel where he was introduced to Baloran and Domingo. Larry kept waiting for a call, but none came. He was later told by accused-appellant that he could not leave yet because Baloran was sick and he had to postpone his trip.[11] Junet T. Lim, Larry's sister, testified that she was present her when brother paid P3,000.00 to accused-appellant, although no receipt was issued. She stated that she asked accusedappellant questions to make sure she could help Larry get a job abroad as a seaman. Janet said accused-appellant was able to convince her that she could do so. Junet also testified that she accompanied her brother in following up his job application for about three months until November 1994, when they realized they had been defrauded by accused-appellant, Domingo, and Baloran.[12] Realizing that they had been deceived, complainants went to the Baler Police Station 2 in Quezon City on November 11, 1994 to file their complaints for illegal recruitment and estafa against accused-appellant, Baloran, Domingo, and Mendoza. Felixberto executed his sworn statement[13] on the same day, while Ronald and Larry gave their respective statements[14] on November 12, 1994. On November 14, 1994, complainants went to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and discovered that accused-appellant and her companions did not have any license or authority to engage in any recruitment activity. Felixberto and Ronald asked the court to order accused-appellant to pay them back the placement fees of P45,000.00 which each of them had paid and moral damages of P200,000.00 for each of them for the shame, anxiety, and loss of jobs they suffered. They also sought the reimbursement for litigation expenses they each incurred, amounting to P20,000.00 as attorney's fees and P500.00 per court appearance. Larry, on the other hand, sought the recovery of the total amount of P150,000.00 for placement fee, travelling expenses from the province to Manila to follow up his application, and the anguish and shame he suffered.[15] In her defense, accusedappellant Luz Gonzales-Flores, a resident of 68-B East Riverside, San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City, testified that she knew Felixberto Leongson, Jr., who was her neighbor and a nephew of the owner of the house in which they were staying. She came to know Ronald Frederizo and Larry Tibor through Elsa Cas. Accused-appellant denied having promised complainants overseas employment and having collected money from them. According to her, she came to know Andy Baloran and Engr. Leonardo Domingo through Joseph Mendoza, who referred her and her son, Noli, to them in connection with their own applications for overseas employment. She came to know Joseph Mendoza through Elsa Cas and Felixberto Leongson, Jr. Accused-appellant claimed that she and Noli agreed to pay Baloran, Domingo, and Mendoza the total sum of P90,000.00 for their application fees. Since she did not have enough money to cover the amount, she asked her neighbors and friends to help her get a loan. Felixberto and his wife offered help and introduced her to Jenny Tolentino, from whom she got a loan of P15,000.00 guaranteed by Felixberto's wife. Accusedappellant said she used the amount to pay for her and her son's recruitment fees. Accused-appellant claimed that she paid the total amount of P46,500.00 for her recruitment fee in three installments, i.e., P10,000.00 to Mendoza at her house, https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/52128 6/14