2. Illegal Recruitment

ILLEGAL RECRUITMENT UNDER THE LABOR CODE (Art. 38) vs. MIGRANT WORKERS ACT (Sec. 6)

Any recruitment activities, including the prohibited practices enumerated under Art. 34 of the Labor Code, to be undertaken by non-licensees or nonholders of authority, shall be deemed illegal and punishable under Art. 39. (Labor Code, Art. 38)

The Secretary of Labor and Employment or the Secretary’s duly authorized representatives may initiate complaints. (Labor Code, Art. 38(a))

Any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring, or procuring workers and includes referring, contract services, promising or advertising for employment abroad, whether for profit or not, when undertaken by non-licensee or non-holder of authority contemplated under the Labor Code. (R.A. No. 8042, Sec. 6)

Simple Illegal Recruitment for Local Workers (Labor Code)

• The person charged with the crime must have undertaken recruitment activities:
• Defined under Art. 13 (b) or
• Prohibited activities defined under Art. 34; and
• The said person does not have a license or authority to do so. (Labor Code, Art. 38)

(1) Non-Licensee or Non-Holder of Authority

The offender commits: Any of the acts defined in Art. 13(b) of the Labor Code as recruitment and placement; Illegal recruitment as defined in ¶ 1, Sec. 6 of R.A. No. 8042, or amended; or Any of the 14 acts enumerated in Sec. 6 of R.A. No. 8042, as amended

(2) Licensed Recruiter or Holder of Authority

The offender commits any of the 14 wrongful acts enumerated in Sec. 6 of R.A. No. 8042, as amended (Sto. Tomas v. Salac, G.R. No. 152642, 2012)

In large scale,

Illegal recruitment committed by a syndicate or in large scale shall be considered an offense involving economic sabotage. (R.A. No. 8042, Sec. 6, as amended by R.A. No. 10022, Sec. 5)

Illegal Recruitment shall be considered an offense involving economic sabotage if any of the following qualifying circumstances exist:

Prescriptive Period