Malaysia if Lalli had not purchased Lolitas boat ticket to Malaysia.
This fact can be deduced from the testimony of Nora Mae Adling
(Nora), 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. Nora testified in open court that Hadja
Jarma Lalli bought passenger tickets for her travel to Sandakan, not
only for herself but also for other women passengers. Lallis claim that
she only goes to Malaysia to visit her daughter and son-in-law does
not explain the fact why she bought the boat tickets of the other
women passengers going to Malaysia. In fact, it appears strange that
Lalli visited Malaysia nine (9) times in a span of one year and three
months (March 2004 to June 2005) just to visit her daughter and son-
in-law. In Malaysia, it was Relampagos who introduced Lolita and her
companions to a Chinese Malay called Boss as their first employer.
When Lolita and her companions went back to the hotel to tell
Relampagos and Lalli that they did not want to work as prostitutes,
Relampagos brought Lolita and the girls on board a van to Sangawan
China Labuan, where they stayed in a room for one night. The next
day, they were picked up by a van and brought to Pipen Club, where
Lolita and her companions worked as prostitutes. To date, accused
Relampagos is at large and has not been brought under the
jurisdiction of the courts for his crimes.
Flight
in criminal law is the evading of the course of justice by
voluntarily withdrawing oneself in order to avoid arrest or detention or
the institution or continuance of criminal proceedings.
48
The
unexplained flight of an accused person may as a general rule be
taken into consideration as evidence having a tendency to establish
his guilt.
49
Clearly, in this case, the flight of accused Relampagos, who
is still at-large, shows an indication of guilt in the crimes he has been
charged.
It is clear that through the concerted efforts of Aringoy, Lalli and
Relampagos, Lolita was recruited and deployed to Malaysia to work as
a prostitute. Such conspiracy among Aringoy, Lalli and Relampagos
could be deduced from the manner in which the crime was
perpetrated each of the accused played a pivotal role in perpetrating
the crime of illegal recruitment, and evinced a joint common purpose
and design, concerted action and community of interest.
For these reasons, this Court affirms the CA Decision, affirming the
RTC Decision, declaring accused Ronnie Aringoy y Masion and Hadja
Jarma Lalli y Purih guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of
illegal recruitment committed by a syndicate in Criminal Case No.
21930, with a penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of
₱
500,000
imposed on each of the accused.
Criminal Case No. 21908 (Trafficking in Persons)
Section 3(a) of Republic Act No. 9208 (RA 9208), otherwise known as
the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, defines Trafficking in
Persons, as follows:
Trafficking in Persons
refers to the recruitment, transportation, transfer
or harboring, or receipt of persons
with or without the victims consent
or knowledge
