Prosecutors question judge’s trip to Indonesia

Mary Jane Veloso —PHOTO COURTESY OF VELOSO FAMILY

CABANATUAN CITY—The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) has questioned a request by a Nueva Ecija judge to join government prosecutors in securing the deposition of convicted drug mule Mary Jane Veloso from her jail cell in Indonesia on April 27.

PAO represents Ma. Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao, who are standing trial for estafa, illegal recruitment and human trafficking in the sala of Judge Anarica Castillo-Reyes of the Regional Trial Court Branch 88 in Sto. Domingo town, Nueva Ecija province.

The deposition could be used against Sergio and Lacanilao, the recruiters of Veloso.

Reyes had requested the Supreme Court to allow her to leave for Indonesia, which PAO had questioned in a manifestation filed with the Office of the Court Administrator (Ocad) of the Supreme Court.

Lawyer Josa Deinla of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) said the PAO query should not delay the deposition. She said the Ocad earlier declined to comment, noting “it was in no position to resolve issues pertaining to the merits of the planned deposition.” NUPL represents the Veloso family.

“We’re hoping as well that the authority will be given to the judge as she will only be observing and not presiding over the proceedings,” Deinla said.

In a resolution issued on Feb. 13, Reyes dismissed a motion for reconsideration filed by the lawyers of Sergio and Lacanilao, who had objected to the deposition.

Veloso was convicted of drug trafficking, for which she was sentenced to death, after she was caught carrying heroin at the Yogyakarta airport in Indonesia in 2010.

But her execution was suspended on the request of the Philippine government in 2014, to allow Veloso to participate in the trial of Sergio and Lacanilao.

Because Veloso could not appear in court, judicial rules permit court officers to secure her sworn oral testimony through a deposition.

Lawyer Ephraim Cortez of NUPL said their group prepared 15 deposition questions for Veloso. He did not elaborate.

No member of the Veloso family is scheduled to go with the lawyers to Yogyakarta when the deposition is taken in April, according to Veloso’s mother, Celia.

The court had granted the prosecution’s motions to take Veloso’s deposition on Aug. 16, and again on Nov. 3, but the deposition had been delayed because of objections by Sergio and Lacanilao.