Case Digest: PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES vs. CAROL M. DELA PIEDRA

G.R. No. 121777 24 January 2001

FACTS:

Dela Piedra was charged with illegal recruitment in a large scale. In an information filed against her, without any POEA license, she allegedly offered and promised for a fee employment in Singapore to Modesto, Amanita and Timbol, such that Modesto had already advanced the amount of Php2,000.00. Dela Piedra was arrested in her home after an investigation was made by Atty. Erlina Ramos, a lawyer of the POEA, who pretended to be an applicant, which led to an entrapment operation of the PNP-CIS for Region IX.

ISSUES:

1. Is Article 13(b) of the Labor Code defining recruitment and placement void for vagueness?
2. Whether herein appellant committed the crime of large scale illegal recruitment.

RULING:

1. NO. Section 13(b) is not overbroad. It encompasses what appellant apparently considers as customary and harmless acts such as labor or employment referral.
2. NO. A conviction for large scale illegal recruitment must be based on a finding in each case of illegal recruitment of three or more persons whether individually or as a group. In this case, only two persons, Amanita and Modesto, were proven to have been recruited by the appellant.