G.R. No. 199211 , June 4, 2014
People of the Philippines, Appellee, vs. Jeric Fernandez y Jaurigue, Appellant.

FACTS

The appellant, Jeric Fernandez, was convicted by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Mandaluyong City for Illegal Recruitment in Large Scale and five counts of Estafa. The complainants (Airene Etac, Jowel Baja, Joemar Aquino, Luis Bernardo, and Anthony Canlas) testified that the appellant promised them employment in Hong Kong, leading them to pay various sums for placement fees and other expenses. The RTC found that the appellant misrepresented his authority to recruit workers for overseas employment despite lacking the necessary license from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA). The Court of Appeals affirmed the RTC’s decision. The appellant appealed to the Supreme Court.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Appeals correctly affirmed the appellant’s convictions for Illegal Recruitment in Large Scale and five counts of Estafa.

RULING

The Supreme Court denied the appeal and affirmed the convictions but modified the penalties for the estafa charges. The Court held that all elements of Illegal Recruitment in Large Scale were proven: (1) the appellant undertook recruitment activities; (2) he had no license or authority to recruit; and (3) the illegal recruitment was committed against three or more persons (five complainants). The appellant’s acts of promising jobs abroad and collecting fees constituted illegal recruitment. For Estafa, the Court found that the appellant defrauded the complainants by falsely pretending to possess the power and qualifications to deploy workers abroad, causing them to part with their money. The penalty for Illegal Recruitment in Large Scale (life imprisonment and a ₱100,000.00 fine) was affirmed. The penalties for Estafa were recomputed under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code and the Indeterminate Sentence Law, resulting in modified indeterminate prison terms for each count based on the amounts defrauded. The appellant was also ordered to indemnify the complainants.