Group asks SC to allow jailed OFW to testify vs. recruiters

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MANILA — A migrant workers group is hoping that the Supreme Court (SC) will allow detained overseas Filipino worker Mary Jane Veloso to present her testimony in the cases filed against her recruiters through a written deposition.

In a statement Friday, Migrante International said it is asking the High Court to uphold the right of Veloso to give her testimony.

“As a victim of human trafficking, it is incumbent that Mary Jane Veloso be allowed to participate in the legal process as it is the only way for the judicial authorities to accord her the chance to see that perpetrators are brought to justice,” the group said.

“It is the major function of the criminal justice system to ensure that victims like Mary Jane Veloso obtain redress through judicial procedures,” it added.

On September 26, the Nueva Ecija Regional Trial Court (RTC) will conduct its last hearing on the presentation of prosecution witnesses in the cases for human trafficking, illegal recruitment and estafa filed against the OFW’s recruiters, Ma. Cristina P. Sergio and Julius Lacanilao.

“Languishing in prison for almost a decade, Mary Jane Veloso is currently being made to pay for a crime she did not commit,” the group said.

“Worst, vital testimony against a big international drug trafficking syndicate remains unheard by entities in our very own criminal justice system following the Court of Appeals decision to deny Mary Jane Veloso of her appeal to testify against her traffickers in the only mode allowed by Indonesian authorities,” the Migrante International added.

Veloso was arrested in Indonesia after her luggage was found carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin in 2010.

She earlier claimed that she was duped by Sergio and Lacanilao into carrying the luggage where the contraband was found.

Veloso’s execution by firing squad was halted in 2015 after the Philippine government informed their Indonesian counterparts that her recruiters had surrendered.

In December 2017, the Court of Appeals (CA) blocked Veloso from giving her testimony through a written deposition, citing that cross-examination of witnesses should generally be done orally before a judge in court.