certification from the DOLE-Dagupan District Office without said certification being properly identified and testified thereto. Fourth Assignment of Error The Court of Appeals erred in affirming the conviction of accused based on speculations and probabilities and not on the evidence on record. Fifth Assignment of Error The Court of Appeals erred in not acquitting the accused on the ground of reasonable doubt. Illegal recruitment is defined in Article 38 of the Labor Code, as amended, as follows: ART. 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 non-holders of authority, shall be deemed illegal and punishable under Article 39 of this Code. The [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. Article 13 (b) of the same Code defines, “recruitment and placement” as: “any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring or procuring workers, and includes referrals, contract services, promising or advertising for employment, locally or abroad, whether for profit or not: Provided, that any person or entity which, in any manner, offers or promises for a fee, employment to two or more persons shall be deemed engaged in recruitment and placement.” The crime of illegal recruitment is committed when two elements concur, namely: (1) the offender has no valid license or authority required by law to enable one to lawfully engage in recruitment and placement of workers; and (2) he undertakes either any activity within the meaning of "recruitment and placement" defined under Article 13 (b), or any prohibited practices enumerated under Article 34 of the Labor Code.[5] In disputing the absence of the first element, petitioner offers her opinion that the CA erred in affirming the trial court's reliance on a mere certification from the DOLE Dagupan District Office that she does not have the necessary licence to recruit workers for abroad. She claims that the prosecution committed a procedural lapse in not procuring a certification from the agency primarily involved, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). The said argument, however, is flawed. Under the first element, a non-licensee or non-holder of authority is any person, corporation or entity which has not been issued a valid license or authority to engage in recruitment and placement by the Secretary of Labor, or whose license or authority has been suspended, revoked or cancelled by the POEA or the Secretary.[6] Clearly, the creation of the POEA did not divest the Secretary of Labor of his/her jurisdiction over recruitment and placement of activities. The governing rule is still Article 35[7] of the Labor Code. This is further discussed in this Court's ruling in Trans Action Overseas Corp. v. Secretary of Labor,[8] wherein it was ruled that: In the case of Eastern Assurance and Surety Corp. v. Secretary of Labor, we held that: