G.R. No. 176169 - Nasi-Villar vs. People

On October 5, 1998, the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Davao del Sur filed an Information for illegal recruitment against petitioner Rosario Nasi-Villar and Dolores Placa, alleging acts in January 1993 in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. The Information charged the recruitment of Nila Panilag for abroad with a P6,500 placement fee, without a license, under R.A. No. 8042.
After trial, the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 18, Digos City, on July 3, 2002, found petitioner “guilty beyond reasonable doubt of Illegal Recruitment” and sentenced her to an indeterminate penalty of four to five years’ imprisonment. No civil damages were awarded due to lack of proof. An alias warrant was issued for co-accused Placa.

On June 27, 2005, the Court of Appeals (CA) ruled that R.A. No. 8042 took effect only on July 15, 1995, thus inapplicable to 1993 acts. It held petitioner liable under the Labor Code (Art. 38 in relation to Art. 13(b) and penalized by Art. 39), modified the RTC decision by ordering P10,000 temperate damages to Nila Panilag, and otherwise affirmed her conviction.
The CA denied petitioner’s motion for reconsideration on November 28, 2006.

R.A. No. 8042 cannot be applied retroactively; its higher penalties violate the constitutional ban on ex post facto laws. The applicable law in 1993 was the Labor Code (Art. 38/39) with lower penalty ranges.

The misdesignation of the statute in the Information is immaterial; the factual allegations describe illegal recruitment under the Labor Code. The CA correctly affirmed conviction under the Labor Code’s penalty scheme.

Whether R.A. No. 8042, effective July 15, 1995, can be applied to acts committed in January 1993.
Whether elevating petitioner’s penalty basis from the Labor Code to R.A. No. 8042 constitutes an ex post facto application.
Whether the real nature of the offense is determined by the statute named in the Information or by the factual allegations describing the offense.