Veloso family welcome filing of charges v.s Mary Jane’s alleged recruiters

Mary Jane Veloso’s family was thankful after hearing the news that Mary Jane was reprieved. (Photo: Jet Damazo-Santos via Twitter)

STO. DOMINGO, Nueva Ecija — The family of death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso expressed relief over the filing of three criminal cases against her alleged recruiters by the Department of Justice (DOJ) before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) here Friday.

”Thank God because it finally arrived what we really waiting for,” said Darling Cando, Veloso’s elder sister upon seeing the information sheets for qualified trafficking in person or violation of Republic Act 0208; illegal recruitment or violation of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Workers Act of 1995; and estafa or violation of Article 215 of the Revised Penal Code against couple Ma. Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao and their alleged cohort, a certain “Ike” at the Office of the Clerk of Court (OCC) here.

The charges were hand-carried by Ariel Sabsabin, an employee of the DOJ’s National Prosecution Service (NPS).

The OCC has docketed the information on qualified trafficking in person and illegal recruitment as Criminal Cases Nos.

SD(15)-3723 and SD(15)-3724, respectively. That of estafa, an OCC official who refused to be identified, could not assign docket number yet until a certain filing fee is paid.

The raffle of these cases could be done on Thursday next week, an OCC official said.

”We are hoping for Mary Jane to be freed because she is indeed innocent,” Cando added.

The family, she said, was also happy that Veloso was not included in the fresh list of convicts to be executed at the end of Ramadan on July 17.

In the information, approved by Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, the three accused allegedly exploited Veloso by “taking advantage of the vulnerability of the victim, under the pretext of a legitimate overseas employment as domestic helper in Malaysia, recruit and transport the victim from Nueva Ecija to Malaysia via Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City,”Azarcon said

“But once in Malaysia, accused did not provide the victim the promised job, rather accused then and there duped, deceived, manipulated, and prevailed upon the victim through a scheme to go to Indonesia with a suitcase provided by the accused and which contained illegal drugs, thereby, deceiving and manipulating the victim to carry and transport the illegal drugs to Indonesia, without the consent and against the will of the victim , and which resulted to her incarceration to the damage and prejudice of the said victim,” Azarcon further alleged.

The state prosecutor said Sergio and Lacanilao supposedly violated Republic Act 8042 when they allegedly recruited Veloso to work overseas without first securing necessary license or authority from the government agencies.

The third case, stemmed from the accused alleged “criminal design” in “falsely representing themselves” to have the capacity to provide Veloso employment in Malaysia as a domestic helper, and allegedly made her pay Php 7,000 in cash.