5/3/2021 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly reasonable doubt. "II "The trial court gravely erred in not considering the defense interposed by accused-appellant." Being interrelated, the assigned errors shall be discussed jointly. Accused-appellant claims that the prosecution failed to prove her guilt for illegal recruitment and estafa; that the trial court considered private complainants' testimonies at face value; and that it failed to consider some facts and circumstances which show that she never recruited private complainants and that she never pretended to be a licensed recruiter. Accused-appellant quoted in her brief the testimonies of private complainants Marlon Sotero and Jaylord Balauro showing that it was their relative Aviguetero who recruited them to work abroad. As to private complainant Shirley Velasco, appellant avers that although the former claimed in her testimony that it was accused-appellant who recruited her, this was belied by her affidavit of desistance (Exhibit "3"), thus: "3. That we are no longer interested in the prosecution of this case as the filing arose out of misunderstanding or misapprehension of facts." Accused-appellant further maintains that while it is true that she has no license or authority to recruit or engage in recruitment activities, this is of no moment considering that she is not engaged in recruitment activities nor pretended to be a licensed recruiter or owner of a licensed recruitment agency. Accused-appellant also contends that based on the foregoing arguments, she could not have likewise committed the crime of estafa under Article 315, 2(a) of the Revised Penal Code. The appeal is partly meritorious. Article 38 of the Labor Code, as amended, defines illegal recruitment thus: "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 Ministry 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. https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/52764 6/14