The Department of Migrant Workers welcomed the recent ruling of the Supreme Court of the Philippines affirming the conviction of Natalie Caluducan for large-scale illegal recruitment involving economic sabotage.

The High Court upheld earlier decisions by the Regional Trial Court in Aparri, Cagayan and the Court of Appeals, which found Caluducan guilty beyond reasonable doubt for illegally recruiting at least three victims for supposed “worm picker” jobs in Canada despite lacking authority from the former Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

The SC said Caluducan and co-accused Tessie Tugaoen, who remains at large, falsely presented themselves as capable of deploying workers abroad and collected placement and processing fees from victims.

The court emphasized that illegal recruitment may still be committed even if the recruiter did not personally receive the money, as long as the individual created the impression of having authority to send workers overseas.

Caluducan was sentenced to life imprisonment, while the Supreme Court increased the fine imposed against her to P5 million.

She was also ordered to reimburse the victims for the placement fees they paid, with six percent annual legal interest from the finality of the decision until fully settled.

The DMW commended the victims for pursuing justice and reiterated its commitment to protecting Filipino migrant workers from illegal recruitment schemes.

The agency also reminded the public to transact only with licensed recruitment agencies and to verify overseas job offers through the official Department of Migrant Workers website before paying any fees.