STO. DOMINGO, Nueva Ecija—The two alleged recruiters of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking, yesterday refused to enter a plea on the qualified human trafficking case filed against them before the Regional Trial Court here.
During their arraignment, Maria Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao did not enter a plea, prompting the Baloc RTC Branch 37 to enter a mandatory not guilty plea as required by the rules.
The two, who were facing charges for allegedly sending 2.6 kilograms of heroin in Veloso’s suitcase in April 2010, were arraigned after Baloc RTC Branch 37 Judge Nelson Tribiana dismissed with finality their motions to defer their arraignment last month.
Veloso was arrested and eventually sentenced to death, but her execution was put on hold at the last minute in April last year to allow her to testify against her alleged recruiters in the Philippines.
Sergio and Lacanilao, who surrendered to authorities last year and had been detained at the provincial jail in Barangay Caalibangbangan in Cabanatuan City, had earlier pleaded not guilty to the illegal recruitment and estafa charges filed against them.
Present during the arraignment were counsels from the Public Attorney’s Office led by State Prosecutor Roland Estepa, and Private Prosecutor, lawyer Edne Olalia of the National Union of People’s Lawyers.
The court has set for March 9 the pre-trial conference of the two. It also ordered the defense to file its pre-trial brief five days before the March 9 hearing.
