4/16/2021 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly of said LONITO F. BALUIS in the aforesaid amount P15,000.00, Philippine Currency. "CONTRARY TO LAW."[12] On November 8, 1993, the trial court arraigned the accused. She pleaded not guilty to each case.[13] Trial ensued. The cases were consolidated and tried jointly. The facts are as follows: In September 1992, accused Chua received a facsimile message from Harmony Electronics Company in Taiwan.[14] The message was written in Chinese characters except for the names of To-ong Zenon Tumenlaco and Tercenio Domingo Fornaliza. Harmony asked her to call up To-ong and Tercenio and tell them that they were needed in Taiwan. Accused Chua contacted To-ong and told him the message.[15] In October 1992, To-ong and Tercenio went to the office of accused Chua, and the latter told them that she could send them to Taiwan upon payment of a placement fee of P15,000.00 each. She also asked them to secure NBI clearances and medical certificates.[16] On October 29, 1992, Tercenio, together with private complainant Lonito Baluis, went back to the office of accused Chua and submitted the requirements. Tercenio and Lonito Baluis paid P15,000.00 each for which they were issued a receipt bearing the name Man Tai Trading and General Services with accused Chua's signature. [17] Accused Chua assured Tercenio and Lonito Baluis that they would be able to leave for Taiwan soon. Three months passed, but they were not deployed. Tercenio became apprehensive and told accused Chua that he would withdraw his application and ask for refund of the placement fee. Accused Chua repeatedly promised that she would give back the money to him, but she never did. After a few more months, Tercenio could not anymore locate accused Chua.[18] Accused Chua used the same modus operandi on the other private complainants. After requiring each complainant to pay a placement fee of P15,000.00 each, to secure NBI clearances and to undergo medical examinations, she would go in hiding. In time, complainants inquired from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) about accused Chua's activities. The POEA issued a certification that accused Chua was not licensed to recruit persons/workers for overseas employment.[19] On October 3, 1995, the trial court promulgated a decision, the dispositive portion[20] of which reads: "WHEREFORE, premises considered, Alicia A. Chua is hereby found: "1) Guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Illegal Recruitment committed in large scale in Criminal Case No. 93-127418 and is therefore https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/51175 6/11