A Pasig City trial court has found Nyssa Zelena E. Deduque guilty of illegal recruitment after determining that she falsely presented herself as a human resources representative of Stamford Singapore and collected money from jobseekers for non-existent overseas employment.
In a ruling issued by Branch 161 of the Pasig City Regional Trial Court, the court established that Deduque offered positions such as chambermaid, HR assistant, and finance executive, claiming these were available at a Singapore-based hotel. She required applicants to pay a processing fee of ₱75,000, assuring them that their deployment would be facilitated through what she described as a licensed recruitment agency.
Testimony from two complainants showed that these assurances never materialized. Despite paying the required fees, none of the applicants were deployed abroad, nor did any receive employment in Singapore. Investigators later confirmed that the representations made by Deduque were untrue and that the promised jobs did not exist.
Based on the evidence presented, the court ruled that Deduque’s actions constituted illegal recruitment under Philippine law. She was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of ₱1,000,000 as penalty for the offense.
