SECOND DIVISION
G.R. No. 235652, July 09, 2018
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. XXX AND YYY,* Accused-Appellants.
D E C I S I O N
PERLAS-BERNABE, J.:
Before the Court is an ordinary appeal1 filed by accused-appellants XXX and YYY (accused-appellants) assailing the Decision2 dated August 25, 2017 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CR-H.C. No. 08446, which affirmed the Judgment3 dated October 23, 2015 of the Regional Trial Court of Biñan, Laguna, Branch 25 (RTC) in Criminal Case Nos. 21802-B, 21803-B, 21804-B, and 24608-B, convicting them of multiple counts of Qualified Trafficking in Persons defined and penalized under Section 4 in relation to Section 6 of Republic Act No. (RA) 9208,4 otherwise known as the "Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003."
Criminal Case No. 21802-B
The undersigned 4th Assistant Provincial Prosecutor, hereby accuses XXX and YYY of the crime of Section 4 (e) in relation to Section 6 (a) and (d) of RA 9208, committed as follows:
That for the period comprising the years 2008, 2009, 2010 up to March 5, 2011, in the City of Cabuyao, Province of Laguna, Philippines within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused conspiring and confederating with each other, by deception and taking advantage of the vulnerability of the minor complainant being the biological parents of the minor complainant having custody and control over AAA, 14 years old, born on 14 December 1996, did then and there maintain for the purpose of prostitution and/or pornography said minor complainant by then and there providing food, shelter and clothing to induce and persuade the said minor complainant, by using the computer and webcam and internet connections, for the minor complainant to engage in private chat wherein persons, usually foreigners would pay a fee, for the minor complainant to show her genitals, buttocks, breasts, pubic area, and to perform simulated sexual explicit activities as by touching and fondling her genitals, buttocks, breasts, pubic area, and uttering words as "FUCK ME!" "LICK ME", instilling in the mind of the minor complainant that the same is necessary for their support and daily sustenance as the earnings she derives from such activities will pay for the family's food, rental and utilities in violation of the said law.
With the presence of the qualifying circumstances that (i) the trafficked person AAA, 14 years old, born on 14 December 1996, is a child and (ii) the accused are the parents of the minor complainant.
CONTRARY TO LAW.6Criminal Case No. 21803-B
The undersigned 4th Assistant Provincial Prosecutor, hereby accuses XXX and YYY of the crime of Section 4 (e) in relation to Section 6 (a) and (d) of RA 9208, committed as follows:
That for the period comprising the year 2010 up to March 5, 2011, in the City of Cabuyao, Province of Laguna, Philippines within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused conspiring and confederating with each other, by deception and taking advantage of the vulnerability of the minor complainant being the biological parents of the minor complainant having custody and control over BBB, 10 years old, born on 14 May 2000, did then and there maintain for the purpose of prostitution and/or pornography said minor complainant by then and there providing food, shelter and clothing to induce and persuade the said minor complainant, by using the computer and webcam and internet connections, to dance naked in front of the camera being viewed through the internet, by a person/s, usually a foreigner named "Sam", who pays a fee, for the minor complainant to: (i) for the minor complainant to engage in private chat wherein persons, usually foreigners would pay for a fee, for the minor complainant to show her genitals, buttocks, breasts, instilling in the mind of the minor complainant that the same is necessary for their support and daily sustenance as the earnings she derives from such activities will pay for the family's food, rental and utilities in violation of the said law.
With the presence of the qualifying circumstances that (i) the trafficked person BBB, 10 years old, born on 14 May 2000, is a child and (ii) the accused are the parents of the minor complainant.
CONTRARY TO LAW.7Criminal Case No. 21804-B.
The undersigned 4th Assistant Provincial Prosecutor, hereby accuses XXX and YYY of the crime of Section 4 (e) in relation to Section 6 (a) and (d) of RA 9208, committed as follows:
That for the period comprising the year 2010 up to March 5, 2011, in the City of Cabuyao, Province of Laguna, Philippines within the . jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused conspiring and confederating with each other, by deception and taking advantage of the vulnerability of the minor complainant being the biological parents of the minor complainant having custody and control over CCC, 9 years old, born on July 24, 2001, did then and there maintain for the purpose of prostitution and/or pornography said minor complainant by then and there providing food, shelter and clothing to induce and persuade the said minor complainant, by using the computer and webcam and internet connections, to dance naked in front of the camera being viewed through the internet, by person/s, usually a foreigner named "Sam", who pays a fee, for the minor complainant to: (i) for the minor complainant to engage in private chat wherein persons, usually foreigners would pay for a fee, for the minor complainant to show her genitals, buttocks, breasts, pubic area[,] instilling in the mind of the minor complainant that the same is necessary for their support and daily sustenance as the earnings she derives from such support and daily sustenance as the earnings she derives from such activities will pay for the family's food, rental and utilities in violation of the said law.
With the presence of the qualifying circumstances that (i) the trafficked person, CCC, 9 years old, born on July 24, 2001, is a child and (ii) the accused are the parents of the minor complainant.
CONTRARY TO LAW.8Criminal Case No. 24608-B
The undersigned 4th Assistant Provincial Prosecutor, hereby accuses XXX and JOHN DOE, whose name and personal circumstances are yet unknown, for the crime of Section 4 (a) in relation to Section 6 (a) and (d) of RA 9208, otherwise known as the "Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003", committed as follows:
That sometime in April 2010 or in the dates prior thereto in the City of Cabuyao, Province of Laguna, Philippines within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused XXX, being the mother of herein complainant AAA, 14 years old, born on 14 December 1996, by taking advantage of the vulnerability of the minor complainant as being the mother accused exerts influence and control over the minor complainant with the intention and purpose of exploitation and prostitution, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously recruit, transport and provide complainant minor AAA, for the purpose of prostitution by then and there bringing her from their residence in Cabuyao, Laguna to the hotel room occupied by one JOHN HUBBARD, a foreign national in Makati City wherein the said John Hubbard had sexual intercourse with the minor complainant in exchange of material consideration in the amount of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00).
With the qualifying circumstances that the trafficked person, AAA, 14 years old, born on 14 December 1996, is a child and that the accused is a parent and exercises parental authority over the trafficked person as she is the mother of complainant AAA.
CONTRARY TO LAW.9
Section 6. Qualified Trafficking in Persons. – The following are considered as qualified trafficking:
(a) When the trafficked person is a child;
x x x x
(d) When the offender is an ascendant, parent, sibling, guardian or a person who exercises authority over the trafficked person or when the offense is committed by a public officer or employee;
x x x x
Section 4. Acts of Trafficking in Persons. – It shall be unlawful for any person, natural or juridical, to commit any of the following acts:
(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;
x x x x
(e) To maintain or hire a person to engage in prostitution or pornography;
x x x x
Endnotes:
* The identity of the victims or any information which could establish or compromise their identities, as well as those of their immediate family or household members, shall be withheld pursuant to RA 7610, entitled "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR STRONGER DETERRENCE AND SPECIAL PROTECTION AGAINST CHILD ABUSE, EXPLOITATION AND DISCRIMINATION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," approved on June 17, 1992; RA 9262, entitled "AN ACT DEFINING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN, PROVIDING FOR PROTECTIVE MEASURES FOR VICTIMS, PRESCRIBING PENALTIES THEREFORE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," approved on March 8, 2004; and Section 40 of A.M. No. 04-10-11-SC, otherwise known as the "Rule on Violence against Women and Their Children" (November 15, 2004). (See footnote 4 in People v. Cadano, Jr., 729 Phil. 576, 578 [2014], citing People v. Lomaque, 710 Phil. 338, 342 [2013]. See also Amended Administrative Circular No. 83-2015, entitled "PROTOCOLS AND PROCEDURES IN THE PROMULGATION, PUBLICATION, AND POSTING ON THE WEBSITES OF DECISIONS, FINAL RESOLUTIONS, AND FINAL ORDERS USING FICTITIOUS NAMES/PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES," dated September 5, 2017.)
1 See Notice of Appeal dated September 15, 2017; rollo, p. 35-36.
2 Id. at 2-34. Penned by Associate Justice Ramon A. Cruz with Associate Justices Ricardo R. Rosario and Pablito A. Perez concurring.
3 CA rollo at 56-79. Penned by Judge Teodoro N. Solis.
4 Entitled "AN ACT TO INSTITUTE POLICIES TO ELIMINATE TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS ESPECIALLY WOMEN AND CHILDREN, ESTABLISHING THE NECESSARY INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS FOR THE PROTECTION AND SUPPORT OF TRAFFICKED PERSONS, PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR ITS VIOLATIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," approved on May 26, 2003.
5Rollo, pp. 3-6 and 11-12.
6 Id. at 3-4.
7 Id. at 4-5.
8 Id. at 5-6.
9 Id. at 11-12.
10 See id. at 12-14. See also Appellee's Brief dated May 9, 2017; CA rollo, pp. 111-113.
11 See id. at 13-15. See also CA rollo, pp. 113-114.
12 See id. at 15-16. See also CA rollo, p. 48.
13 CA rollo, pp. 56-79.
14 Id. at 79.
15 Aside from violation of RA 9208, they were also charged for violations of RA 7610, entitled "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR STRONGER DETERRENCE AND SPECIAL PROTECTION AGAINST CHILD ABUSE, EXPLOITATION AND DISCRIMINATION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," otherwise known as the "SPECIAL PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AGAINST ABUSE, EXPLOITATION AND DISCRIMINATION ACT," approved on June 17, 1992 and RA 9775, entitled "AN ACT DEFINING THE CRIME OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, PRESCRIBING PENALTIES THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," otherwise known as the "ANTI-CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ACT OF 2009," approved on November 17, 2009.
16 See CA rollo, pp. 76-78.
17 See id. at 67-76.
18 See Brief for the Accused-Appellants dated December 15, 2016; id. at 37-54.
19Rollo, pp. 2-34.
20 See id. at 31.
21 A reading of the Information in Criminal Case No. 24608-B would show that YYY was not included as an accused, as it only listed XXX and a certain John Doe as the accused. (See id. at 11-12.)
22 Id. at 19-30.
23 See Notice of Appeal dated September 15, 2017; id. at 35-36.
24 See Peralta v. People, G.R. No. 221991, August 30, 2017, citing People v. Matibag, 757 Phil. 286, 293 (2015).
25 See People v. Hirang, G.R. No. 223528, January 11, 2017.
26 See People v. Jugueta, G.R. No. 202124, April 5, 2016, 788 SCRA 331, 338.