In the evening of June 3, 2005, while Lolita Sagadsad Plando, 23 years old, single, was in Tumaga, Zamboanga City on her way to the house of her grandfather, she met Ronnie Masion Aringoy and Rachel Aringoy Cañete. Ronnie greeted Lolita, "Oy, it's good you are here" ("oy, maayo kay dia ka"). Rachel asked Lolita if she is interested to work in Malaysia. x x x Lolita was interested so she gave her cellphone number to Ronnie. After their conversation, Lolita proceeded to her grandfather's house.
x x x
On June 4, 2005, at about 7:00 o'clock in the morning, Lolita received a text message from Ronnie Aringoy inviting her to go to the latter's house. At 7:30 in the morning, they met at Tumaga on the road near the place where they had a conversation the night before. Ronnie brought Lolita to the house of his sister in Tumaga. Lolita inquired what job is available in Malaysia. Ronnie told her that she will work as a restaurant entertainer. All that is needed is a passport. She will be paid 500 Malaysian ringgits which is equivalent to P7,000.00 pesos in Philippine currency. Lolita told Ronnie that she does not have a passport. Ronnie said that they will look for a passport so she could leave immediately. Lolita informed him that her younger sister, Marife Plando, has a passport. Ronnie chided her for not telling him immediately. He told Lolita that she will leave for Malaysia on June 6, 2005 and they will go to Hadja Jarma Lalli who will bring her to Malaysia. Ronnie sent a text message to Lalli but the latter replied that she was not in her house. She was at the city proper.
On June 5, 2005, at about 6:00 o'clock in the evening, Ronnie Aringoy and Rachel Aringoy Cañete arrived on board a tricycle driven by Ronnie at the house where Lolita was staying at Southcom Village. Ronnie asked if Lolita already had a passport. Lolita said that she will borrow her sister's passport. Ronnie, Rachel and Lolita went to Buenavista where Lolita's other sister, Gina Plando was staying. Her sister Marife Plando was there at that time. Lolita asked Marife to let her use Marife's passport. Marife refused but Lolita got the passport. Marife cried. Ronnie, Rachel and Lolita proceeded to Tumaga. Ronnie, Rachel and Lolita went to the house of Hadja Jarma Lalli just two hundred meters away from the house of Ronnie in Tumaga. Ronnie introduced Lolita to Hadja Jarma, saying "Ji, she is also interested in going to Malaysia." Lolita handed a passport to Hadja Jarma telling her that it belongs to her sister Marife Plando. Hadja Jarma told her it is not a problem because they have a connection with the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) and Marife's picture in the passport will be substituted with Lolita's picture. Nestor Relampagos arrived driving an owner-type jeep. Hadja Jarma introduced Nestor to Lolita as their financier who will accompany them to Malaysia. x x x Lolita noticed three other women in Hadja Jarma's house. They were Honey, about 20 years old; Michele, 19 years old, and another woman who is about 28 years old. The women said that they are from Ipil, Sibugay Province. Ronnie told Lolita that she will have many companions going to Malaysia to work. They will leave the next day, June 6, and will meet at the wharf at 2:30 in the afternoon.
On June 6, 2005, Lolita went to Zamboanga City wharf at 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon bringing a bag containing her make-up and powder. She met at the wharf Hadja Jarma Lalli, Ronnie Aringoy, Honey and Michele. Ronnie gave to Lolita her boat ticket for the vessel M/V Mary Joy bound for Sandakan, Malaysia; a passport in the name of Marife Plando but with Lolita's picture on it, and P1,000.00 in cash. Hadja Jarma, Lolita, Honey, Michele and two other women boarded the boat M/V Mary Joy bound for Sandakan. Ronnie Aringoy did not go with them. He did not board the boat. x x x After the boat sailed, Hadja Jarma Lalli and Nestor Relampagos approached Lolita and her companions. Nestor told them that they will have a good job in Malaysia as restaurant entertainers. They will serve food to customers. They will not be harmed.
M/V Mary Joy arrived at the port of Sandakan, Malaysia at 10:00 o'clock in the morning of June 7, 2005. After passing through the immigration office, Hadja Jarma Lalli, Nestor Relampagos, Lolita, Honey, Michele and two other women boarded a van for Kota Kinabalu. x x x At the hotel, Nestor Relampagos introduced to Lolita and her companions a Chinese Malay called "Boss" as their employer. After looking at the women, "Boss" brought Lolita, Honey, Diane and Lorraine to a restaurant near the hotel. Diane and Lorraine were also on baord M/V Mary Joy when it left the port of Zamboanga for Sandakan on June 6, 2005. When they were already at the restaurant, a Filipina woman working there said that the place is a prostitution den and the women there are used as prostitutes. Lolita and her companions went back to the hotel. They told Hadja Jarma and Nestor that they do not like to work as prostitutes. x x x After about five minutes, another person called "boss" arrived. x x x [T]hey were fetched by a van at about 7:00 o'clock in the evening and brought to Pipen Club owned by "Boss Awa", a Malaysian. At the club, they were told that they owe the club 2,000 ringgits each as payment for the amount given by the club to Hadja Jarma Lalli and Nestor Relampagos. They will pay for the said amount by entertaining customers. The customers will pay 300 ringgits for short time services of which 50 ringgits will go to the entertainer, and 500 ringgits for over night service of which 100 ringgits will be given to the entertainer. Pipen Club is a big club in a two-storey building. There were about 100 women working in the club, many of them were Filipina women.
Lolita Plando was forced to work as entertainer at Pipen Club. She started working at 8:30 in the evening of June 14, 2005. She was given the number 60 which was pinned on her. That night, she had her first customer who selected her among the other women at the club. He was a very big man, about 32 years old, a Chinese-Malay who looked like a wrestler. The man paid for short time service at the counter. Lolita was given by the cashier a small pink paper. She was instructed to keep it. A small yellow paper is given to the entertainer for overnight services. The customer brought Lolita to a hotel. She did not like to go with him but a "boss" at the club told her that she could not do anything. At the hotel, the man poked a gun at Lolita and instructed her to undress. She refused. The man boxed her on the side of her body. She could not bear the pain. The man undressed her and had sexual intercourse with her. He had sexual intercourse with her every fifteen minutes or four times in one hour. When the customer went inside the comfort room, Lolita put on her clothes and left. The customer followed her and wanted to bring her back to the hotel but Lolita refused. At about 1:00 o'clock in the morning of June 15, 2005, Lolita was chosen by another customer, a tall dark man, about 40 years old. The customer paid for an overnight service at the counter and brought Lolita to Mariner Hotel which is far from Pipen Club. At the hotel, the man told Lolita to undress. When she refused, the man brought her to the comfort room and bumped her head on the wall. Lolita felt dizzy. The man opened the shower and said that both of them will take a bath. Lolita's clothes got wet. She was crying. The man undressed her and had sexual intercourse with her. They stayed at the hotel until 11:00 o'clock in the morning of June 15, 2005. The customer used Lolita many times. He had sexual intercourse with her every hour.
Lolita worked at Pipen Club from June 14 to July 8, 2005. Every night, a customer used her. She had at least one customer or more a night, and at most, she had around five customers a night. They all had sexual intercourse with her. On July 9, 2005, Lolita was able to contact by cellphone at about 10:00 o'clock in the morning her sister Janet Plando who is staying at Sipangkot Felda x x x. Janet is married to Said Abubakar, an Indonesian national who is working as a driver in the factory. x x x Lolita told Janet that she is in Labuan, Malaysia and beg Janet to save her because she was sold as a prostitute. Janet told Lolita to wait because her husband will go to Pipen Club to fetch Lolita at 9:00 o'clock that evening of that day. x x x She told Janet to instruct her husband to ask for No. 60 at Pipen Club. x x x At 9:00 o'clock in the evening, Lolita was told by Daddy Richard, one of the bosses at the club, that a customer requested for No. 60. The man was seated at one of the tables. Lolita approached the man and said, "good evening." The man asked her is she is the sister of Janet Plando. Lolita replied that she is, and asked the man if he is the husband of her sister. He said, "yes." The man had already paid at the counter. He stood up and left the place. Lolita got her wallet and followed him. x x x Lolita told her sister about her ordeal. She stayed at her sister's house until July 22, 2005. On July 21, 2005 at 7:00 o'clock in the evening, a policeman went to her sisters house and asked if there is a woman staying in the house without a passport. Her sister told the policeman that she will send Lolita home on July 22. At dawn on July 22, Lolita and her brother-in-law took a taxi from Sipangkot Felda to Mananamblas where Lolita will board a speedboat to Sibuto, Tawi-Tawi. x x x
Upon arrival in Zamboanga City on July 24, 2005, Lolita went directly to the house of her eldest sister Alejandra Plando Maywila at Sta. Catalina, Zamboanga City. She left her things at her sister's house and immediately went to the sister of Ronnie Aringoy in Tumaga. Ronnie was not there. She asked Russel, niece of Ronnie, to call for the latter. Ronnie arrived and said to her, "so you are here, you arrived already." He said he is not involved in what happened to her. Lolita asked Ronnie to accompany her to the house of Nestor Relampagos because she has something to get from him. Ronnie refused. He told Lolita not to let them know that she had already arrived from Malaysia.
Lolita was advised to file a complaint with the police regarding her ordeal in Malaysia. On August 2, 2005, at past 9:00 o'clock in the morning, Lolita Plando went to Zamboanga Police Office at Gov. Lim Avenue to file her complaint. x x x
In her Counter-Affidavit (Exh. "1"; "1-A"-Lalli), Hadja Jarma Lalli admitted that she met Lolita Plando on June 6, 2005 on board M/V Mary Joy while the said vessel was at sea on its way to Sandakan, Malaysia. The meeting was purely coincidental. By coincidence also, Hadja Jarma, Nestor Relampagos and Lolita Plando boarded the same van for Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Upon arrival, they parted ways. They did not see each other anymore at Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. She did not know what happened to them. She went to Kota Kinabalu to visit his son-in-law. She denied having recruited Lolita Plando for employment abroad (Exh. "1"; "1-A"). x x x
In his Counter-Affidavit (Exh. "1"-Aringoy), Ronnie Aringoy affirmed that he personally knows Lolita Plando since she was a teenager and he knows for a fact that her name is Cristine and not Marife "as she purports it to appear." Sometime in the first week of June 2005, Lolita borrowed P1,000.00 from Ronnie because she wanted to go to Malaysia to work as a guest relation officer (GRO). Ronnie lent her P1,000.00. He told her that he knows "a certain Hadja Jarma Lalli, distant neighbor, who frequents to Malaysia and with whom she can ask pertinent information on job opportunities." The entries in Philippine Passport No. MM401136 issued to Hadja Jarma Lalli on January 29, 2004 (Exh. "2"; "2-A" to "2-Q") showed that she traveled to Malaysia no less than nine (9) times within the period from March 2004 to June 2005.
x x x
Nora Mae Adling, ticketing clerk of Aleson Shipping Lines, owner of the vessel M/V Mary Joy 2 plying Zamboanga City to Sandakan, Malaysia route and of M/V Kristel Jane 3, testified that Hadja Jarma Lalli bought passenger tickets for her travel to Sandakan, not only for herself but also for other women passengers.
x x x
Ronnie Aringoy submitted the Affidavit of his witness Rachel Cañete (Exh. "2") and the Joint Affidavits of witnesses Mercedita Salazar and Estrella Galgan. Rachel Canete declared that Lolita Plando whom she knows as Cristine Plando worked as a GRO (guest relation officer) and massage attendant at Magic 2 Videoke and Massage Parlor, that Lolita Plando has four children sired by different men; and that she knows for a fact that Lolita Plando has been going to and from Malaysia to work in bars. When she testified in court, Rachel did not present other evidence to substantiate her allegations. Mercedita Salazar and Estrella Galgan declared in their Joint Affidavit that Lolita Plando who is known to them as Marife Plando was their co-worker as massage attendant and GRO (guest relation officer) at Magic 2 Massage Parlor and Karaoke bar where she used the names Gina Plando and Cristine Plando. She worked in the said establishment for nine months from February to October 2002. She has four children from four different men. No other evidence was submitted in court to prove their assertions.4
WHEREFORE, the Court finds accused HADJA JARMA LALLI y PURIH and RONNIE ARINGOY y MASION GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt in Criminal Case No. 21908 of the Crime of Trafficking in Persons defined in Section 3(a) and penalized under Section 10(c) in relation to Sections 4(a) and 6(c) of Republic Act No. 9208 known as the "Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003" and in Criminal Case No. 21930 of the crime of Illegal Recruitment defined in Section 6 and penalized under Section 7(b) of Republic Act No. 8042 known as the "Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995" and SENTENCES each of said accused:
- In Criminal Case No. 21908, to suffer the penalty of LIFE IMPRISONMENT and to pay a fine of P2,000,000.00 pesos;
- In Criminal Case No. 21930, to suffer the penalty of LIFE IMPRISONMENT and to pay a fine of P500,000.00 pesos;
- To pay the offended party Lolita Plando y Sagadsad, jointly and severally, the sum of P50,000.00 as moral damages, and P50,000.00 as exemplary damages; and
- To pay the costs.
SO ORDERED.5
(1) when the inference made is manifestly mistaken, absurd or impossible; (2) when there is a grave abuse of discretion; (3) when the finding is grounded entirely on speculations, surmises or conjectures; (4) when the judgment of the Court of Appeals is based on misapprehension of facts; (5) when the findings of fact are conflicting; (6) when the Court of Appeals, in making its findings, went beyond the issues of the case and the same is contrary to the admissions of both appellant and appellee; (7) when the findings of the Court of Appeals are contrary to those of the trial court; (8) when the findings of fact are conclusions without citation of specific evidence on which they are based; (9) when the Court of Appeals manifestly overlooked certain relevant facts not disputed by the parties and which, if properly considered, would justify a different conclusion; and (10) when the findings of fact of the Court of Appeals are premised on the absence of evidence and are contradicted by the evidence on record.37
[I]llegal recruitment shall mean any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring, or procuring workers and includes referring, contact services, promising or advertising for employment abroad, whether for profit or not, when undertaken by a non-licensee or non-holder of authority contemplated under Article 13(f) of Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines.
x x x
Illegal recruitment when committed by a syndicate or in large scale shall be considered an offense involving economic sabotage.
x x x
Illegal recruitment is deemed committed by a syndicate if carried out by a group of three (3) or more persons conspiring or confederating with one another. (Emphasis supplied)
"Authority" means a document issued by the Department of Labor authorizing a person or association to engage in recruitment and placement activities as a private recruitment entity.
(b) The penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of not less than Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00) nor more than One million pesos (P1,000,000.00) shall be imposed if illegal recruitment constitutes economic sabotage as defined therein.
- 1. the offender undertakes either any activity within the meaning of "recruitment and placement" defined under Article 13(b), or any of the prohibited practices enumerated under Art. 34 of the Labor Code;
- he has no valid license or authority required by law to enable one to lawfully engage in recruitment and placement of workers; and
- the illegal recruitment is committed by a group of three (3) or more persons conspiring or confederating with one another.43
The elements of conspiracy are the following: (1) two or more persons came to an agreement, (2) the agreement concerned the commission of a felony, and (3) the execution of the felony was decided upon. Proof of the conspiracy need not be based on direct evidence, because it may be inferred from the parties' conduct indicating a common understanding among themselves with respect to the commission of the crime. Neither is it necessary to show that two or more persons met together and entered into an explicit agreement setting out the details of an unlawful scheme or objective to be carried out. The conspiracy may be deduced from the mode or manner in which the crime was perpetrated; it may also be inferred from the acts of the accused evincing a joint or common purpose and design, concerted action and community of interest. 47
Trafficking in Persons - refers to the recruitment, transportation, transfer or harboring, or receipt of persons with or without the victim's consent or knowledge, within or across national borders by means of threat or use of force, or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of position, taking advantage of the vulnerability of the person, or, the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation which includes at a minimum, the exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, servitude or the removal or sale of organs. x x x (Emphasis supplied)
(a) To recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, provide, or receive a person by any means, including those done under the pretext of domestic or overseas employment or training or apprenticeship, for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage.
(c) When the crime is committed by a syndicate, or in large scale. Trafficking is deemed committed by a syndicate if carried out by a group of three (3) or more persons conspiring or confederating with one another. It is deemed committed in large scale if committed against three (3) or more persons, individually or as a group.
(c) Any person found guilty of qualified trafficking under Section 6 shall suffer the penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of not less than Two million pesos (P2,000,000.00) but not more than Five million pesos (P5,000,000.00).
Art. 2217. Moral damages include physical suffering, mental anguish, fright, serious anxiety, besmirched reputation, wounded feelings, moral shock, social humiliation, and similar injury. Though incapable of pecuniary computation, moral damages may be recovered if they are the proximate result of the defendant's wrongful act for omission.
Art. 2229. Exemplary or corrective damages are imposed, by way of example or correction for the public good, in addition to the moral, temperate, liquidated or compensatory damages.
Art. 2230. In criminal offenses, exemplary damages as a part of the civil liability may be imposed when the crime was committed with one or more aggravating circumstances. Such damages are separate and distinct from fines and shall be paid to the offended party.
(1) A criminal offense resulting in physical injuries;
(2) Quasi-delicts causing physical injuries;
(3) Seduction, abduction, rape, or other lascivious acts;
(4) Adultery or concubinage;
(5) Illegal or arbitrary detention or arrest;
(6) Illegal search;
(7) Libel, slander or any other form of defamation;
(8) Malicious prosecution;
(9) Acts mentioned in Article 309;
(10) Acts and actions referred to in Articles 21, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, and 35.
The parents of the female seduced, abducted, raped, or abused, referred to in No. 3 of this article, may also recover moral damages.
The spouse, descendants, ascendants, and brothers and sisters may bring the action mentioned in No. 9 of this article, in the order named.
The Court cannot pronounce the liability of accused-at-large Nestor Relampagos as jurisdiction over his person has not been acquired.
SO ORDERED.
Carpio, (Chairperson), Brion, Sereno, Reyes, and Perlas-Bernabe,* JJ.
Endnotes:
* Designated Acting Member per Special Order No. 1114 dated 3 October 2011.
1 CA rollo, pp. 40-58.
2 Id. at 209-222.
3 Id. at 224-225, 255-256.
4 Id. at 42-53.
5 Id. at 58.
6 Id. at 53-57.
7 Id. at 167-179.
8 Id. at 171.
9 Id. at 172.
10 Id.
11 Id.
12 Id. at 173-174.
13 Id. at 175.
14 Id. at 64-85.
15 Id. at 77.
16 Id.
17 Id.
18 Id. at 78.
19 Id.
20 Id. at 79.
21 Id.
22 Id.
23 Id.
24 Id.
25 Id. at 80-83.
26 People v. Martinada, G.R. Nos. 66401-03, 13 February 1991, 194 SCRA 36, 44.
27 Id.
28 CA rollo, p. 171.
29 Id. at 77.
30 Id. at 78.
31 Id. at 79.
32 Id. at 77.
33 Id. at 52.
34 Id. at 51.
35 Id. at 52.
36 Cosmos Bottling Corporation v. Nagrama, Jr., G.R. No. 164403, 4 March 2008, 547 SCRA 571, 584, citing The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. v. Gramaje, 484 Phil. 880 (2004).
37 Reyes v. Court of Appeals (Ninth Division), 328 Phil. 171, 180 (1996) citing Floro v. Llenado, 314 Phil. 715 (1995).
38 Supra note 26 at 41.
39 Section 6, Republic Act No. 8042.
40 Id.
41 Section 7, Republic Act No. 10022.
42 G.R. No. 187730, 29 June 2010, 622 SCRA 439.
43 Id. at 451, citing People v. Soliven, 418 Phil. 777 (2001) and People v. Buli-e, 452 Phil. 129 (2003).
44 People v. Lapis, 439 Phil. 729, 740 (2002).
45 People v. Bodozo, G.R. No. 96621, 21 October 1992, 215 SCRA 33, 37, citing Araneta, Jr. v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. L-43527, 3 July 1990, 187 SCRA 123.
46 411 Phil. 52 (2001).
47 Id. at 59, citing People v. Fegidiro, 392 Phil. 36 (2000) and People v. Francisco, 388 Phil. 94 (2000).
48 United States v. Alegado, 25 Phil. 510, 511 (1913).
49 Id.
50 People v. Tac-an, 261 Phil. 728, 746 (1990).
51 Section 21, Article III, 1987 Philippine Constitution.
52 CA rollo, p. 174.
53 Id.