authorized job recruiters for persons intending to secure work abroad convinced said JERRY AKIA and pretended that he/she/they could secure a job for him/her abroad, for and in consideration of the sum of P15,000.00 when in truth and in fact they could not; the said JERRY AKIA deceived and convinced by the false pretenses employed by the accused parted away the total sum of P15,000 in favor of the accused, to the damage and prejudice of the said JERRY AKIA in the aforementioned amount of FIFTEEN THOUSAND PESOS, (P15,000.00), Philippine Currency.iii[3] The accused in all the charges brought up against him pleaded not guilty when arraigned. Since the cases involved a common factual background, a joint trial was conducted. Pending trial and before they could be put to the witness stand, Nancy Fesset and Veronica Filog, who were among those who filed Criminal Case No. 12357R and the complainants in, respectively, Criminal Case No. 12358-R and Criminal Case No. 12361-R, left for abroad. Alice Kimay, the 54-year-old complainant in Criminal Case No. 12357-R and Criminal Case No. 12360-R, used to be an elementary school teacher in Kalinga, Apayao. She left for Italy in 1985 to work as a baby-sitter and there stayed until 1990 when she returned to the Philippines. In November 1992, she learned from a certain Estela that a recruiter, named Elvis Sanchez, was in town recruiting workers for Taiwan. Alice passed on the information to her nephews and nieces, her co-complainants in Criminal Case No. 12357-R, namely, Aaron John Acena, Jerry Akia, Veronica Filog and Nancy Fesset. Being all interested in gaining employment abroad, the group went to see appellant at the Leisure Lodge in Magsaysay Avenue, Baguio City, where he was billeted. Appellant assured complainants that he could secure jobs for them abroad if they would each pay a placement fee and submit pertinent papers, like their bio-data, NBI clearances, medical certificates and passports, required for foreign travel. The applicants requested appellant to instead secure for them the passports upon their submission of NBI clearances and medical certificates. Alice, who had applied for a domestic helper job in Taiwan, was able to deliver to appellant the required papers. Alice paid the placement fee of sixteen thousand pesos (P16,000.00) to appellant in two (2) installments evidenced by two (2) receipts. The first receipt,iv[4] dated 09 November 1992, was for the amount of five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) and the second receipt,v[5] dated 17 January 1993, was for eleven thousand pesos (P11,000.00). The receipts were both issued in Makati, Metro Manila. Appellant assured Alice that she would be able to leave by December 1992. Seeing that appellant had reneged on his promise to send her to Taiwan, Alice went to see him in his residence at Pateros, Metro Manila, where he merely gave another promise. Tired of appellants failed assurances, Alice and the other complainants ultimately went to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration ("POEA") office in Magsaysay Avenue, Baguio City, where they were to learn that appellant was not a licensed recruiter. The complainants executed a joint affidavitvi[6] subscribed and sworn to by Atty. Justinian O. Licnachan before whom the corresponding criminal charges against appellant were submitted.