THE recruiter of Mary Jane Veloso surfaced at a police station in Nueva Ecija Tuesday, fearing reprisals from the family of the death row convict who was set to be executed in Indonesia at midnight.
Ma. Cristina Sergio, 47, appeared before the police provincial office to ask for protection, saying she had received death threats on her cell phone and her Facebook page.
Sergio allegedly recruited Veloso for work in Malaysia in 2009. Upon arriving in Malaysia, however, Veloso was told by a certain “Ike” to go to Indonesia instead, where a job was awaiting her.
Veloso was arrested in the Yogyakarta International Airport with 2.6 kilos of heroin in her luggage, but denied that the drugs were hers.
Her family says Veloso was duped by Sergio and “Ike.”
Sergio’s appearance at the police station came a day after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) recommended the prosecution of Veloso’s recruiters, including Sergio, for human trafficking and illegal recruitment.
The NBI named Veloso’s recruiters as Maria Cristina P. Sergio, alias Mary Christine Gulles Pasadilla, Juluis Lacailao and a certain “Ike” from Africa.
Prosecutor General Claro Arellano said the complaint for illegal recruitment, human trafficking and estafa by swindling against Sergio, her live-in partner Lacanilao and Ike was set for preliminary investigation hearings on May 8 and May 14.
In its complaint, the NBI said Veloso did not know there were illegal drugs in her luggage, and said she was a deception and manipulation by her illegal recruiters.
“Facts surrounding the circumstances of her recruitment, transportation and stay at a foreign country also show that she is a victim of human trafficking owing to the fact that her vulnerability (in dire need of a job in order to support her family) was exploited by her recruiters through manipulation and deception, in order for her to unwittingly transport contraband without her knowledge,” the NBI said.
The NBI said Veloso was recruited by Sergio in April 2010 supposedly to work in Malaysia after they were introduced to each other by Lacanilao, a close family friend.
However, when they went to Malaysia that same month, Veloso was first given an “errand” in Indonesia before she could be given the job as a domestic helper in Malaysia.
Veloso was then introduced to Ike, a Malaysian-based African who gave her an empty bag that she was told to use for her two-day stay in Indonesia.
“She was given a plane ticket and a cell phone number to call once she was there (in Indonesia). No name of the contact person was given to her. Upon reaching Indonesia, the victim was arrested by the local police for alleged drug trafficking,” the NBI said.
Neither Sergio nor Lacanilao have a license or authority to recruit persons for overseas employment, the NBI said.
In the House, two leftist lawmakers sought a congressional probe into the seemingly growing number of Filipino job seekers who end up as drug mules.
In a resolution, Bayan Muna party-list Reps. Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate said “it is of utmost urgency for Congress to investigate the case of the so-called drug mules who are unsuspectingly used by drug syndicates and the modus operandi of the same to forewarn the public especially those applying for jobs through the Internet.”
“Congress must also look into the efforts of the Philippine government to adequately protect and assist OFWs like Veloso and soon-to-be OFWs from becoming victims of criminal syndicates,” Colmenares said.
Colmenares also lamented that the government failed to provide Veloso with the necessary legal assistance.
Citing news reports, Colmenares said Veloso was not given a lawyer or a translator when the police were interrogating her in Bahasa Indonesia. The Philippine embassy in Jakarta also allegedly did not provide her with a lawyer during the trial. – With Maricel V. Cruz