The Supreme Court (SC) en banc has upheld the portion of Republic Act
8042 (the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995) covering
“illegal recruitment” earlier struck down as unconstitutional by a
Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC).
In a 17-page decision penned by
Justice Roberto Abad, the court declared Sections 6, 7, 9, and the last
sentence of the second paragraph of Section 10 of RA 8042 “valid and
constitutional.”
Section 6 defines the crime of “illegal recruitment”
and enumerates the acts constituting the same. Section 7 provides the
penalties for prohibited acts. Section 9 of the law allows the filing of
criminal actions arising from “illegal recruitment” before the RTC of
the province or city where the offense was committed or where the
offended party actually resides at the time of the commission of the
offense. Finally, the last sentence of the second paragraph of Section
10 holds the corporate directors, officers, and partners of recruitment
and placement agencies jointly and solidarily liable for money claims
and damages that may be adjudged against the latter agencies.
The
court found “illegal recruitment” as defined in Section 6 of RA 8042
clear and unambiguous. “By its terms, persons who engage in ‘canvassing,
enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring or procuring
workers’ without the appropriate government license or authority are
guilty of illegal recruitment whether or not they commit the wrongful
acts enumerated in that section. On the other hand, recruiters who
engage in the canvassing, enlisting, etc. of (overseas Filipino workers
or OFWs), although with the appropriate government license or authority,
are guilty of illegal recruitment only if they commit any of the
wrongful acts enumerated in Section 6,” the court held.
In fixing
uniform penalties, as provided for in Section 7, for each of the
enumerated acts under Section 6, the court ruled that “Congress was
within its prerogative to determine what individual acts are equally
reprehensible” consistent with the state policy of according full
protection to labor and deserving of the same penalties. Reiterating
People v. Ventura, it held that “the State under its police power may
prescribe rules and regulations as in its judgment will secure or tend
to secure the general welfare of the people, to protect them against the
consequence of ignorance and incapacity as well as of deception and
fraud.”
Read the full story at: Tribune.net.ph
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