Case Digest: Arambulo vs People GR 241834 24 July 2019

                RA 9208  | Criminal Law


 FACTS:

The RTC and CA convicted Fernando B. Arambulo for the crime of Qualified Trafficking in Persons. Petitioner and his minor son, Dominique Dimple Arambulo, invited the latter's three (3) schoolmates who were also minors, namely AAA, BBB, and CCC, 10 to their house sometime in 2011. It was then revealed that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss petitioner's plans to commit robberies with the help of AAA, BBB, and CCC. Upon learning about this, CCC expressed his desire to leave but petitioner got angry and punched him; thus, he was forced to join the group. AAA, BBB, and CCC then similarly testified that not only was petitioner the mastermind of the series of robberies they subsequently committed against various people, but he was also the driver of their getaway tricycle.


ISSUE:

WoN  the petitioner's conviction for trafficking in persons should be set aside because the specific provision under which he was convicted was introduced after the period when he committed the acts.


CONTENTION:

In an attempt to absolve himself from criminal liability, petitioner similarly contends that the acts imputed to him, i.e., recruiting minors to commit a series of robberies, constitute the crime defined and penalized under Section 4 (k) (4) of RA 9208, as amended by RA 10364. 

He then posits that since this specific provision was only introduced by the amendatory law in 2013 as the original iteration of Section 4 of RA 9208 did not contain the same, and the acts imputed to petitioner were committed sometime in September 2011 to January 12, 2012 as indicated in the Information against him, it may be said that at the time he committed said acts, there was no specific provision in RA 9208 in its original form which specifically defines and penalizes the said acts as Trafficking in Persons. As such, his conviction must be set aside.


HELD:

NO.

While petitioner correctly pointed out that he cannot be convicted under Section 4 (k) (4) of RA 9208 as amended by RA 10364 since said provision was only enacted on February 28, 2013, or after the period stated in the Information when he committed the acts imputed against him, this will not ipso facto result in his acquittal, as his acts of recruiting minors for the purpose of committing a series of robberies reasonably fall under Section 4 (a) of RA 9208 in its original form, which reads:

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; (Emphases and underscoring supplied)

Relatedly, Section 3 (d) of RA 9208 in its original form defines the term "forced labor and slavery" as "the extraction of work or services from any person by means of enticement, violence, intimidation or threat, use of force or coercion, including deprivation of freedom, abuse of authority or moral ascendancy, debt-bondage or deception."


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Equality and Human Rights: The United Nations and Human Rights System (September 16, 2023)

Sovereign Equality of States/Principle of sovereign equality UN Charter of 1945 All states are equal before international law no matter the size of their territory, population, economy or military. All states have equal rights and duties under international law, and that no state has the right to interfere in the internal affairs of another state. Positive Consequences: All states have a voice in international affairs .   All states have the opportunity to participate in international organizations and to negotiate and conclude treaties. This helps to ensure that the interests of all states are represented in the development of international law and policy. No state has the right to interfere in the internal affairs of another state.  This helps to protect the sovereignty of all states and to prevent the use of force or coercion to achieve political objectives. States have the right to develop their own political, economic, and social systems without interference from othe...
Read more

Commercial Laws 1: R.A. No. 11057 — Personal Property Security Act

  Commercial Law TITLE XVI Personal Property Security Act Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises are sources of growth and innovation. They contribute to and benefit from future growth. Their increased participation in global trade "can have significant impact in reducing poverty through employment creation, productivity improvements and economies of scale." Congress passed the Personal Property Security Act in order to provide Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) more access to "credit at the least cost through the establishment of a unified and modern legal framework for securing obligations with personal property ." It was explained:  According to the 2015 Philippine Statistics Authority data, there are 896,839 micro-small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that established in the Philippines.  These MSMEs generated a total of 4,784,870 jobs in 2015 versus 2,181,819 for the large enterprises.  This indicates that the MSMEs contributed almost 61 % o...
Read more

Land Title and Deeds: Chapter 1 — What Lands are Capable of Being Registered

Chapter I What Lands are Capable of Being Registered All lands in the Philippines are presumed to be lands of the public domain, and therefore, owned by the State. This rule finds support in Section 2, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution:  Section 2 . All lands of the public domain , waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the State . With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be alienated. The exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State. The State may directly undertake such activities, or it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or associations at least 60 per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens. Such agreements may be fo...
Read more