Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions > Year 2010 > August 2010 Resolutions > [G.R. No. 178774 : August 23, 2010] THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, APPELLE VS. MARLYN P. BACOS, APPELLANT. :

Please take notice that the Court, Third Division, issued a Resolution dated 23 August 2010, which reads as follows:

G.R. No. 178774 - THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appelle -versus- MARLYN P. BACOS, appellant.

R E S O L U T I O N

We pass upon the Motion for Reconsideration filed by Marlyn P. Bacos (appellant) addressing the Court's Resolution dated April 14, 2010, denying her appeal of the Court of Appeals' (CA's) decision, finding her guilty beyond reasonable doubt of illegal recruitment in large scale.

The appellant moves for a reconsideration of the Resolution on the basis of the following arguments:

First, there is no clear and sufficient evidence adduced to prove her active participation in the illegal recruitment activities of Efren Dimayuga.  She stressed that the complainants testified that they transacted with Dimayuga and not with her.

Second, she is only liable as an accomplice.  She asserts that while she had knowledge in the illegal recruitment activities of Dimayuga, there is no evidence to prove that she gave indispensable cooperation.  Rather, the evidence shows that her acts in giving assurances and handling the money came after the complaints had already been convinced by Dimayuga.

We deny the motion considering that the above arguments are mere reiterations of the appellant's arguments earlier raised in the petition and duly considered and fully passed upon in arriving at the assailed Resolution.

As we pointed out in Resolution, the appellant's arguments lack merit as the evidence on record fully support her liability as a principal to the illegal recruitment activities committed by her and Dimayuga against the complaints.  Despite the lack of license or authority to engage in recruitment, the appellant admitted that she gave the complaints "assurances" that she and Dimayuga could deploy them for employment to Japan.  The complaints were categorical in saying that they relied not only on the representations of Dimayuga but also on the assurances of the appellant that they would be deployed to work in Japan.

Even granting that the appellant gave assurances after the complaints were already convinced by Dimayuga, it bears stressing that the time when the misrepresentation was made, whether prior or simultaneous to the delivery of the money of the complainants, is only material in the crime of estafa and not illegal recruitment.^[1]

In any event, the established acts of the appellant, specifically: (a) accepting the payment of the placement fee given by the complainants; (b) informing the complainants of the date of their departure; and (c) informing them on how the balance of the placement fee would be paid, fully support the conclusion that she actively engaged in illegal recruitment activities.

WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Motion for Reconsideration is hereby DENIED with FINALITY.  No further pleadings shall be entertained. Let entry of judgment be made in due course.

SO ORDERED.

Endnotes:

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^[1] People v. Calimon, G.R. No. 175229, January 29, 2009, 577 SCRA 116.