After Five Years, Mary Jane Veloso Finally Allowed To Tell Side Of Her Story, But…

Five years after getting a last-minute reprieve from execution, Filipina death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso has finally been allowed by the Supreme Court (SC) to testify against her alleged illegal recruiters – but the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to leave the timeline up in the air.

The National Union of People’s Lawyers received on Aug. 14 the March 4 minute resolution of the SC Special Third Division that “denied with finality” the plea of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) to block the testimony of Veloso from being taken in Indonesia.

Veloso was the last prosecution witness to be presented in the qualified trafficking, illegal recruitment and estafa cases against Ma. Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao pending before the Regional Trial Court Branch 88 in Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija.

The SC’s resolution would clear all legal stumbling blocks against the taking of Veloso’s deposition through “written interrogatories.”

In other words, instead of appearing before the court – which she cannot be expected to do as she remains imprisoned abroad – Veloso would be allowed to give her written answers and swear before an officer who would likely be sent to visit her.

“In time, not only will the illegal recruiters be held to account but her innocence will eventually be judicially established and we look forward to her coming home free as a logical consequence,” NUPL said in a statement.

“We acknowledge with appreciation the complementary roles of the Office of the Solicitor General and the Department of Justice in joining us in our corner this time to pursue a common objective, to render justice to distressed OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) like Mary Jane,” it added. “Let Mary Jane speak out now and bring her home in time. It is a long and tortuous journey but we will get there.”

However, NUPL president Edre Olalia said he was not made aware yet of the schedule for the next hearing of the case against Sergio. In the case of Lacanilao, it will be on Sept. 7 but it is not yet clear what the instructions willl be regarding Veloso’s deposition.

Olalia admitted that there would be logistical challenges especially as both the Philippines and Indonesia grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic will certainly affect schedule, preparations, arrangements, parameters and coordination between Philippine and Indonesian authorities, considering that our two countries are still grappling with it,” Olalia said.

“Our hands are tied as it is with domestic judicial procedures. Mas complicated kasi bilateral process ito between two jurisdictions (This is more complicated because this is a bilateral process between two jurisdictions),” he added.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, meanwhile, welcomed the SC’s final resolution in favor of Veloso.

“Nagagalak po kami diyan dahil at least makikita natin na si Ms. Veloso po ay naging biktima, kung tatanggapin iyong kaniyang testimonya (We are pleased with that, because at least we will see that Ms. Veloso became the victim, if her testimony is to be admitted),” Roque said.

Veloso was meted the death penalty following her arrest in April 2010 with 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her suitcase.

She was scheduled to be executed with eight other drug convicts on April 29, 2015, but only she was granted a stay on the basis of a last-minute affidavit taken by Filipino authorities from her prison cell on March 31, 2015.

Indonesian authorities, however, imposed the following conditions in exchange for allowing Veloso to testify: she shall remain detained in Yogyakarta, no cameras shall be allowed, the lawyers shall not be present, and the questions shall be sent in writing.

Veloso claimed that her neighbors Sergio and Lacanilao offered her a job as a domestic helper in Malaysia. Upon reaching the country, Sergio supposedly told her that the job was no longer available and instead sent her to Indonesia with a piece of luggage. That luggage turned out to contain illegal drugs.

The Nueva Ecija court allowed the taking of Veloso’s deposition by written interrogatories in an Aug. 16, 2016 resolution, but this was overturned by the Court of Appeals in a Dec. 13, 2017 decision. The PAO had argued that it was merely seeking to enforce the right of Lacanilao and Sergio to confront their witness face-to-face.

However, the SC said disallowing Veloso from testifying would curtail her right to due process. It noted that her imprisonment in Indonesia and the conditions for her reprieve denied her any opportunity to decide for herself whether or not to voluntarily appear before the court in Nueva Ecija.

Read more: Mary Jane Veloso’s Struggle For Freedom Continues