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Friday, March 29, 2024

Court: Nab Veloso’s recruiters

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A NUEVA Ecija regional trial court ordered on Monday the arrest of the two recruiters who allegedly duped Mary Jane Veloso to serve as a drug mule of a West African drug syndicate and smuggle narcotics into Indonesia in 2010.

Judge Nelson Tribiana of RTC Branch 37 in Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija issued the warrant of arrest against defendants Ma. Christina P. Sergio and Julius Lacanilao who were charged with large-scale illegal recruitment by Veloso’s family.

Tribiana did not provide for bail for Sergio and Lacanilao while Prosecutor General Claro Arellano said the two will be presented to the court, where Tribiana is expected to determine where the accused will be detained.

“Most likely, they will be committed to the provincial jail of Nueva Ecija,” Arellano said, in an interview.

Last May 7, the Department of Justice has approved the indictment of Sergio and Lacanilao for large scale illegal recruitment, a non-bailable offense.

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“Finally, with the existence of the three complainants filed by Lorna Valino, Ana Marie Gonzales, and Jenalyn Paraiso, it is beyond dispute that the illegal recruitment undertaken by both respondents are committed in large scale. Hence, the charges against them should be qualified,” read the 18-page resolution penned by Assistant State Prosecutor Mark Roland Estepa.

However, the DOJ earlier said both suspects will undergo preliminary investigation with respect to the human trafficking and estafa complaints filed against them since the other complainants failed to subscribe to their respective affidavits.

 “After an assiduous examination of the records of this case, we find that the evidence presented at this stage of the proceedings is insufficient to establish the exploitative purpose of complainants’ recruitment abroad,” Estepa said.

“With respect to the aforesaid charges, the undersigned finds that the evidence submitted by complainants in connection with the charge of violation of Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code is insufficient to charge them in court. Hence, the same should be subjected to further preliminary investigation,” he added.

Sergio and Lacanilao, whom Justice Secretary Leila de Lima claimed were former international drug couriers-turned drug courier recruiters, were accused of duping Veloso into smuggling 2.6 kg of heroin to Indonesia in guise of a new employment.

The NBI, acting on behalf of Veloso, filed human trafficking, illegal recruitment, and estafa complaints against Sergio and Lacanilao, on the same day Veloso was supposed to have been executed by Indonesian authorities.

But Veloso was granted a temporary reprieve from execution by the Indonesian government after Sergio and Lacanilao surrendered to the Philippine National Police.

In recommending the filing of charges against the respondents, Estepa found probable cause that both Sergio and Lacanilao violated Section 6 of RA 8042 and thus “they should be held for trial.”

Estepa gave credence to the testimonies of Mesdames Lorna Valina, Ana Marie Gonzales, and Jenalyn Paraiso that both respondents recruited and promised them work abroad despite the fact that the latter were not licensed/authorized to recruit workers for overseas employment.

“Given the foregoing, the undersigned hereby rules that respondents are liable for the crime of large-scale illegal recruitment and should be appropriate charged in court with no recommended bail,” the prosecutor said.

 

 

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