Veloso recruiters undergo inquest

DRUG MULE RECRUITER SUSPECT TAGGED Maria Cristina Sergio, 47, (right) is identified during an NBI inquest on human trafficking charges by Celia Veloso, mother of death convict Mary Jane Veloso, as the woman who recruited her daughter for a job that ended in her arrest in Indonesia for carrying 2.6 kilos of heroin in her suitcase. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines–The Department of Justice inquest prosecutor is set to rule Thursday on whether to elevate to the preliminary investigation stage the human trafficking, illegal recruitment and estafa complaints of the family of convicted drug mule Mary Jane Veloso against her alleged recruiters, Ma. Kristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), acting on the complaints of the Veloso family and other alleged victims of Sergio and Lacanilao, arrested the couple on Tuesday and brought them to the DOJ main office for an inquest hearing before prosecutor Mark Roland Estepa on Wednesday.

Following a 30-minute private conference with their lawyers from the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), Sergio and Lacanilao declined to execute a waiver of detention that would have allowed them to submit counter-affidavits and give Estepa up to 15 days to issue his ruling.

The PAO team, led by lawyer Howard Areza, asked that Sergio and Veloso be set free for “further investigation” and questioned the bases of their warrantless arrest.

The NBI arresting team led by lawyer Eric Nuqui, who heads the agency’s antitrafficking division, said 10 new complainants were to be presented to Estepa later Wednesday to swear on their affidavits.

Areza also asked if the complaint filed by the NBI and the Veloso family was similar to the one filed by the NBI, on behalf of Mary Jane, last April 28, which another prosecutor has set for preliminary investigation on Friday.

Nuqui told reporters the two cases may be consolidated.

Of the 14 complaints filed last Tuesday against Sergio and Lacanilao, 11 were cases of illegal recruitment stemming from the complaints of the Velosos and 10 others.

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima conferred with officials of various law-enforcement agencies on Wednesday regarding the Veloso case and the cases of other Filipinos allegedly victimized by human-trafficking and illegal-drug syndicates.

In an interview after the meeting, De Lima said there was a “strong indication” that Veloso was a victim of the notorious “West African drug syndicate.” She said both “Ike” and “Prince,” the two men that Veloso said were Sergio’s friends were members of the syndicate.

De Lima said investigators had found that Sergio and Lacanilao “started as drug mules and drug couriers.”

“Later, they began recruiting others, like Mary Jane, to become drug mules and drug couriers. And then the drug mules and couriers will also recruit. Always for a fee. That’s their mechanics,” she said.

The couple’s latest victims, she added, also came from their hometown of Talavera in Nueva Ecija.

Malacañang on Wednesday said that President Aquino has no ill feelings against the mother of Mary Jane Veloso who refused to acknowledge his role in the reprieve granted by the Indonesian government.

“No, our President does not harbor that kind of (ill) feeling,” Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in an official transcript of his television interview.

Coloma stressed that the President would continue to reach out to Veloso and her mother as he fully understood their situation.

“The life of Mary Jane Veloso, of every Filipino, is important and that as the father of the nation, he is doing what it is needed to help Mary Jane and Filipino workers,” he said.

Coloma said it would be up to Veloso’s mother if she felt it was necessary to apologize to the President for her harsh words.