6/7/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly Cathedral, private complainant in Criminal Case No. 47987, testified that on February 16, 1997, he met appellant at the house of Ernesto Taberna (Ernesto) in Ungka, Pavia, Iloilo. Appellant, who introduced herself as a recruiter of workers for Brunei, showed Cathedral a job order and a calling card both indicating that appellant was an Overseas Marketing Director of RTY Skill Development Corporation. Appellant also represented herself as an acquaintance of the Labor Attache assigned to Brunei; and that she was a legitimate recruiter. Beguiled by appellant's representations, Cathedral submitted his bio-data indicating therein that he was applying as a cook. On March 10, 1997, Cathedral gave P20,000.00 to appellant as processing fee. Appellant did not issue any receipt despite demand but assured him that the receipt would be given after the renewal of his passport. On June 5, 1997, Cathedral received a photocopy of his passport from Loida Monterde (Monterde), the secretary of the appellant. He noticed though that the passport number in the photocopy was the same as the number in his expired passport. Cathedral thus asked Monterde to issue a receipt for the money he paid, but Monterde told him to wait for the appellant. Thereafter he did not see the appellant anymore. It was only when he went to the office of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on June 11, 1997 that he came to know that the appellant was not an authorized recruiter. Orias, private complainant in Criminal Case No. 47988, testified that on March 8, 1997, she met the appellant in Brgy. Mainggit, Badiangan, Iloilo at the house of Shirley. Appellant introduced herself as a recruiter from Brunei and assured her and Suobiron that she could give them work in Brunei. Orias thus applied for a job as a waitress. Appellant then asked her to pay P25,000.00 as placement fee and assured her that she would be deployed to Brunei as soon as she had completed her papers. On April 1, 1997, Orias gave appellant P10,000.00. She asked for a receipt but the appellant assured her that the receipt will be issued after full payment of the placement fees. During the second week of May 1997, Orias, along with her co-applicants, met with appellant to inquire when they would leave for Brunei. Appellant however told them that their medical certificates had already expired. When Orias and her co-applicants met Pelipog, the latter informed them that she could not leave for Brunei because, according to appellant, her papers had expired as well. Alarmed by such development, Pelipog, Orias, and their co-applicants sought the help of the NBI. Suobiron, private complainant in Criminal Case No. 47989, testified that on March 8, 1997, she went to Shirley's house along with Jennifer Divinagracia (Divinagracia) and Orias where she met appellant who introduced herself as a recruiter. The following day, she went back to Shirley's house together with Orias and Bueron and submitted her bio-data, medical certificate, NBI clearance, and passport. Suobiron applied as a waitress and paid P10,000.00 of the P25,000.00 placement fee. When asked for a receipt, the appellant just wrote the amount paid in a notebook since it was only a partial payment. The full payment was supposed to be paid in April, 1997 before departing to Brunei. They were not able to pay the full amount of the placement fee because their visas did not arrive. According to the appellant the reason for this was their papers had expired. elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/63211 3/9