September 2012 - Philippine Supreme Court Decisions/Resolutions
Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence
be imposed if illegal recruitment is committed by a non-licensee or non-holder of authority.
In the case at bar, the trial court imposed upon appellant Chua the penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of P 500,000. However, considering that appellant is a non-licensee or non-holder of authority, we deem it proper to impose upon her the maximum penalty of life imprisonment and fine of P 1,000,000.
Meanwhile, the penalty for estafa under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code is prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its minimum period, if the amount of the fraud is over P 12,000 but does not exceed P 22,000. If the amount exceeds P 22,000, the penalty shall be imposed in its maximum period, adding one year for each additional P 10,000. But, the total penalty imposed shall not exceed 20 years.
The range of penalty provided for in Article 315 is composed of only two periods. Thus, to get the maximum period of the indeterminate sentence, the total number of years included in the two periods should be divided into three equal periods of time, forming one period for each of the three portions. The maximum, medium and minimum periods of the prescribed penalty are therefore:
Minimum period - 4 years, 2 months and 1 day to 5 years, 5 months and 10 days
Medium period - 5 years, 5 months and 11 days to 6 years, 8 months and 20 days
Maximum period - 6 years, 8 months and 21 days to 8 years.33ςrνll
In this case, the amount by which appellant defrauded private complainants Aglanao, Danan and Tajadao is P 80,000, which exceeds P 22,000. Hence, the penalty should be imposed in the maximum period of 6 years, 8 months and 21 days to 8 years. Since the total amount of fraud in this case exceeds the threshold amount of P 22,000 by P 58,000, an additional penalty of five years imprisonment should be imposed. Thus, the maximum period of appellant's indeterminate sentence should be 13 years of reclusion temporal.
The minimum period of the indeterminate sentence, on the other hand, should be within the nmge ofpenaity next lower to that prescribed by Article 315, paragraph 2(a) of the Revised Penal Code for the crime committed.The penalty next lower to prision correccional maximum to prision mayor minimum is prision correccional minimum (6 months and 1 day to 2 years and 4 months) to prision correccional medium (2 years, 4 months and 1 day to 4 years and 2 months). Thus, the appellate court correctly modified the minirnum period of appellant's sentence to 4 years and 2 months of prision correccional.ςηαñrοblεš �νιr†υαl �lαω �lιbrαrÿ
WHEREFORE, the appeal is PARTLY GRANTED. Appellant Melissa Chua, a.k.a. Clarita Ng Chua is ACQUITTED of one count of estafa filed by private complainant Roylan Ursulum in Criminal Case No. 03-21 7999-403.
The Decision dated September I5, 2008 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR-H.C. No. 01006 is AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION in that the appellant is ordered to pay a fine of P 1,000,000 and to indemnify each of the private complainants Alberto A. Aglanao, Billy R. Danan and Rey P. Tajadao in the amount of P-80,000.
With costs against the accused-appellant.ςrαlαωlιbrαrÿ
SO ORDERED.
Endnotes:
1ςrνll Rollo. pp. 2-16. Penned by Associate Justice Ron1eo F. Barza, with Associate Justices Mariano C. Del Castillo (now a member of this Court) and Arcangelita M. Romilla-Lontok concurring.
2ςrνll CA rollo, pp. 14-18. The RTC decision was rendered on March 28, 2005 and penned by Judge Reynaldo G Ros.
3ςrνll Id. at 7.
4ςrνll Sometimes spelled as "Daunan" or "Dauan" in other parts of the records.
5ςrνll Records, p. 99.
6ςrνll Id. at 10.
7ςrνll Id. at 14.
8ςrνll Also referred to as Roylan Ursulan in other parts of the records.
9ςrνll CA rollo, p. 18.
10ςrνll Id. at 19.
11ςrνll Rollo, pp. 17-18.
12ςrνll Id. at 21-22.
13ςrνll Id. at 24-26.
14ςrνll CA rollo, pp. 31-41.
15ςrνll Rollo, pp. 28-29.
16ςrνll CA rollo, pp. 55-73.
17ςrνll Id. at 33.
18ςrνll Id. at 39-40.
19ςrνll Id. at 40.
20ςrνll "Recruitment and placement" refers to any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring, or procuring workers, and includes referrals, contract services, promising or advertising for employment, locally or abroad, whether for profit or not: Provided, That any person or entity which, in any manner, offers or promises for a fee employment to two or more persons shall be deemed engaged in recruitment and placement.
21ςrνll ART. 34. Prohibited practices. - It shall be unlawful for any individual, entity, licensee, or holder of authority:
(a) To charge or accept, directly or indirectly, any amount greater than that specified in the schedule of allowable fees prescribed by the Secretary of Labor, or to make a worker pay any amount greater than that actually received by him as a loan or advance;
(b) To furnish or publish any false notice or information or document in relation to recruitment or employment;
(c) To give any false notice, testimony, information or document or commit any act of misrepresentation for the purpose of securing a license or authority under this Code;
(d) To induce or to attempt to induce a worker already employed to quit his employment in order to offer him to another unless the transfer is designed to liberate the worker from oppressive terms and conditions of employment;
(e) To influence or to attempt to influence any person or entity not to employ any worker who has applied for employment through his agency;
(f) To engage in the recruitment or placement of workers in jobs harmful to public health or morality or to the dignity of the Republic of the Philippines[;]
(g) To obstruct or attempt to obstruct inspection by the Secretary of Labor or by his duly authorized representatives;
(h) To fail to file reports on the status of employment, placement vacancies, remittance of foreign exchange earnings, separation from jobs, departures and such other matters or information as may be required by the Secretary of Labor;
(i) To substitute or alter employment contracts approved and verified by the Department of Labor from the time of actual signing thereof by the parties up to and including the periods of expiration of the same without the approval of the Secretary of Labor;
(j) To become an officer or member of the Board of any corporation engaged in travel agency or to be engaged directly or indirectly in the management of a travel agency; and
(k) To withhold or deny travel documents from applicant workers before departure for monetary or financial considerations other than those authorized under this Code and its implementing rules and regulations.
22ςrνll People v. Espenilla, G.R. No. 193667, February 29, 2012, p. 3.
23ςrνll Id.
24ςrνll People v. Calonge, G.R. No. 182793, July 5, 2010, 623 SCRA 445, 455.
25ςrνll People v. Ocden, G.R. No. 173198, June 1, 2011, 650 SCRA 124, 146.
26ςrνll People v. Chua, G.R. No. 184058, March 10, 2010, 615 SCRA 132, 141-142.
27ςrνll Id. at 142, citing People v. Comila, G.R. No. 171448, February 28, 2007, 517 SCRA 153, 167.
28ςrνll Sy v. People, G.R. No. 183879, April 14, 2010, 618 SCRA 264, 271.
29ςrνll Id.
30ςrνll Records, pp. 109-120.
31ςrνll TSN, July 26, 2004, pp. 5-6.
32ςrνll Llamas v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 149588, August 16, 2010, 628 SCRA 302, 308.
33ςrνll Pucay v. People, G.R. No. 167084, October 31, 2006, 506 SCRA 411, 424-425.
