Woman escapes illegal recruitment, not estafa

CEBU, Philippines – A woman accused of recruiting her neighbor to work in Hong Kong was cleared of the criminal complaint for illegal recruitment but was indicted of the accessory crime of estafa.

The Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office has dismissed the case for illegal recruitment against Joventina Asenjo because the number of complainant does not meet the requirement under Republic Act 8042 otherwise known as the Philippine Migrant Workers Act.

Section 6 of RA 8042 provides that for a person to be prosecuted for illegal recruitment, he or she must have offered “fee employment abroad to two or more persons.”

Assistant provincial prosecutor Luis Calderon recommended the dismissal of the complaint for illegal recruitment against Asenjo based on the said provision because there is only one complainant against her.

However, Calderon recommended that Asenjo should be prosecuted for estafa.

Catalina Jabagat, resident of Dalaguete town, alleged that sometime in February 8 of last year, the accused offered her a job in Hong Kong in exchange for P40,000.

Jabagat said since she did not have enough money, she only gave P6,000 to Asenjo on February 18, 2008 more than a week before they departed for Hong Kong. However, Jabagat said she was surprised to find out in Hong Kong that the accused was no longer with her and that the promised job was non-existent.

Fortunately, Jabagat said, a friend of their companion in Hong Kong allowed them to stay in a pension house where they paid 110 Hong Kong dollars a day until her return to the country on March 5, 2008.

After her arrival, Jabagat said she immediately confronted Asenjo and demanded a refund of her money but the latter refused.

Asenjo denied the charges claiming that it was the complainant who persisted in going with her to China. According to her, upon their arrival in Hong Kong she was deported back to the country by the Immigration officials because of problems in her travel documents.

Asenjo said she requested a friend in Hong Kong to take care of Jabagat while she fixes the glitches in her travel documents. She said it was her who asked a friend in Hong Kong to give Jabagat 1,000 Hong Kong dollars for her expenses.

Asenjo likewise denied asking money from Jabagat in exchange for a job in Hong Kong. She admitted having received P6,000 from Jabagat a week before their departure but the amount was allegedly a personal loan. — Fred P. Languido/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)