G.R. No. 108440 March 11, 1999
People of the Philippines, plaintiff-appellee, vs. Vicente Mercado y Mercado alias Vicente Tan, accused-appellant.

FACTS

Accused-appellant Vicente Mercado was charged with Illegal Recruitment in Large Scale and two counts of Estafa. The information alleged that between May 1991 and April 1992, in Manila, Mercado, without the required license from the Department of Labor and Employment, recruited and promised employment abroad to seven individuals, including Antonio Peralta, Ruth Enriquez, and Nelson Tamares. In separate cases for Estafa, it was charged that he defrauded Nelson Tamares and Jimmy Elep by falsely representing his capacity to secure overseas employment for them in Macao, thereby inducing them to deliver various sums of money which he misappropriated.
During trial, the prosecution presented several witnesses, including Danilo Rivera, Antonio Peralta, and Nelson Tamares. Their collective testimonies established that Mercado, through his associates, solicited and received placement fees from them with promises of jobs in Hong Kong or Macao. They were given application forms and receipts, but were ultimately not deployed. The defense presented Mercado, who denied the charges, claiming he was merely an employee of a licensed agency and that the complainants were applying through his cousin. The trial court convicted Mercado of Illegal Recruitment in Large Scale and one count of Estafa (for defrauding Tamares), while dismissing the other Estafa case for insufficiency of evidence.

ISSUE

The core issue is whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of accused-appellant for the crimes of Illegal Recruitment in Large Scale and Estafa.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. On illegal recruitment, the Court held that the elements were conclusively established: (1) accused-appellant undertook recruitment activities for overseas employment; (2) he did not have the required license or authority from the DOLE; and (3) he committed the same against three or more persons. The testimonies of multiple complainants, corroborated by documentary evidence like receipts, proved he engaged in recruitment by promising jobs and collecting fees. His defense of being a mere employee was rejected as he failed to present the alleged license or any credible proof of his employment with a licensed entity. The crime, being large-scale, is punishable by life imprisonment.
Regarding Estafa under Article 315(2)(a) of the Revised Penal Code, the Court found that accused-appellant defrauded Nelson Tamares through false pretenses of securing overseas work, inducing him to part with his money. However, the Court modified the penalty. Applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law and the ruling in People v. Gabres, the minimum penalty was reduced to four years and two months of prision correccional, while the maximum was set at ten years of prision mayor, calculated based on the amount defrauded. The decision was affirmed with this modification to the penalty for Estafa.