DOJ to file criminal raps vs recruiter of executed Pinay

(Updated 3:59 p.m.) The Department of Justice has recommended the filing of criminal charges against Tita Cacayan, the alleged recruiter of Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, one of the three Filipinos executed in China last March for drug trafficking. In a six-page resolution, Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Lilian Doris Alejo said there is probable cause to file cases of large-scale illegal recruitment and drug trafficking against Cacayan. The resolution, signed last May 31, was approved by Prosecutor General Claro Arellano Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Severino Gana. Large-scale illegal recruitment The DOJ lent credence to the testimonies which confirmed that Cacayan bought Villanueva's plane ticket to China and that Cacayan was not an authorized recruiter. Cacayan's acts were in violation of Section 6 of the Migrant Workers Act of 1995 (Republic Act 8042), the DOJ said. "In as much as respondent Cacayan procured/referred/promised overseas employment to the aforementioned complainants, despite the fact that she is not licensed to do so, and purchased plane tickets for them, there is probable cause to hold her liable for violation of Section 6 of RA 9042 as amended," the DOJ said. It added that because the complainants against Cacayan were more than three, "the offense is deemed to have [been] committed in large scale." Cacayan had denied wrongdoing in connection with Villanueva's case. "She claimed that she cannot be held liable for the violation of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, as she did not recruit, transport, transfer or harbor persons for purposes of exploitation, prostitution, other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, servitude, or the removal or sale of organs," the DOJ resolution said of Cacayan. The DOJ cited the testimony of Melita Comedes, owner and manager of Winluck Travel and Tours, where Cacayan supposedly bought the tickets for Villanueva and her other alleged recruits. Comedes has claimed that Cacayan also gave Villanueva a $500 pocket money and the suitcase Villanueva used in her trip. Phillippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Licensing Branch director II Lucia Villamayor has also testified that Cacayan, in her personal capacity, is not licensed to recruit workers for overseas employment. Drug trafficking In upholding the drug trafficking charge, the DOJ gave weight to a complainant's testimony which said that Cacayan gave him 43 capsules of A-class cocaine. The complainant cannot be named publicly, pursuant to Republic Act 9165 or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. "The act of respondent Cacayan in giving 43 capsules containing A-class cocaine, a dangerous drug, to complainant for the latter to swallow and later transport out of the country constitutes violation of Section 5 of RA 9165," said the DOJ. Executed in China Villanueva, and fellow Filipinos Ramon Credo and Elizabeth Batain, were executed in China last March 30 for bringing in illegal drugs in 2008. Under the Chinese criminal code, smuggling of 50 grams of heroin or any narcotic drug into China is punishable by death. Villanueva was convicted for smuggling 4,110 grams of heroin on Dec. 24, 2008 into Xiamen, while Credo was convicted for smuggling 4,113 grams of heroin on Dec. 28, 2008 in the same city. Batain, meanwhile, was convicted for smuggling 6,800 grams of heroin on May 24, 2008, in Shenzhen. — RSJ, GMA News