Complainant Odon Orosa,[10] a driver, testified that in August 1994, he was in the
house of his sister-in-law, Clarita Salagubang, at San Roque, San Nicolas,
Pangasinan. Orosa and the accused knew each other as they took part in the
construction of Salagubangs house in 1986.The accused asked him if he wanted to
work in Taiwan as a company driver. Orosa was assured that he could easily get
employed in Taiwan if he could pay the accused one-half of the placement fees and the
remainder, after he has started working in Taiwan. His wife, Glory, gave the accused
five thousand pesos (P5,000.00), for which a receipt was issued.[11] The accused
returned in October and again asked for money from Orosa as payment for his plane
ticket. Orosa handed nine thousand pesos (P9,000.00) to the accused and a receipt
was again issued by the accused.[12] Orosa also gave the accused three thousand pesos
(P3,000.00) for his medical examination. The payment was not covered by a
receipt. After one month, the accused asked Orosa for additional money for his plane
ticket. Orosa, through his wife, paid another six thousand pesos (P6,000.00). The
amount was receipted.[13] Orosa was assured he could leave for Taiwan in January of the
following year. January came but Orosa was not able to go to Taiwan. He later
discovered that the accused was already in jail at Lingayen, Pangasinan for illegal
recruitment.Orosa admitted that he did not ask the accused to show her license to
recruit upon the assurance that he was going to Taiwan through direct hiring.
Complainant Ricardo Ilasin,[14] a security guard, testified that he met the accused in
June or July 1994 at Barangay Legaspi. The accused informed Ilasin that she was
recruiting persons to work in Taiwan as caretakers of a piggery. The compensation was
fifteen thousand pesos (P15,000.00) a month. The accused also told Ilasin that he could
pay for her services through salary deduction. Hence, Ilasin contracted a loan and
mortgaged the land of his father to meet the required expenses for his work abroad.
For his medical examination, Ilasin paid to the accused three thousand pesos
(P3,000.00) without a receipt. He also gave five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) to the
accused for her services for which a receipt was issued. [15] In September 1994, the
accused asked Ilasin to give fifteen thousand pesos (P15,000.00) for his airplane
ticket. Ilasin paid the amount inside a travel agency in Makati where the accused tried to
buy the ticket. However, the accused returned to Ilasin without the ticket on the pretext
that there was no ticket available. The money paid for Ilasins airplane ticket was
covered by a receipt.[16] Ilasin did not see the accused again.
Like the other complainants, Ilasin did not ask the accused if she was authorized by
the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to recruit employees. He
said that the accused did not require him to fill up any application form or to submit
pictures. As he was assured that he would be working abroad through direct hiring, he
immediately trusted the accused.
Complainant Richard Castulo,[17] also a security guard, alleged that he was in the
house of Ilasin when the accused came to recruit workers.She told Castulo that she was
looking for people to work as caretakers of a piggery in Taiwan on a direct hiring
arrangement. The monthly compensation was fifteen thousand pesos (P15,000.00) and
the period of employment was two years. In his desire to help his parents, Castulo
accepted the offer. To process his application, Castulo was asked to pay five thousand