Still awaiting SC nod for CIW hearing, Mary Jane Veloso yet to testify vs recruiters

Veloso’s lawyers ask the Supreme Court to allow her to testify in person at her prison facility, following internet connectivity issues during a previous hearing

MANILA, Philippines – Former overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Mary Jane Veloso is still awaiting the day she will testify against her recruiters for allegedly trafficking her, as the Supreme Court (SC) has yet to act on her lawyers’ request to allow the hearings to proceed at her prison facility.

Veloso, the Filipina who was on Indonesia’s death row for 14 years for drug smuggling, has been detained at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City since her transfer to the Philippines in December 2024.

“The private prosecutors are one with Mary Jane in their ardent desire to tell her story in court, and she has been waiting for the longest time — not just since she was brought to the Philippines, but since she was arrested in Indonesia,” Edre Olalia, National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers chairperson and Veloso’s lead counsel, told Rappler on Tuesday, June 17.

Veloso is the final witness in a case filed against her recruiters for human trafficking, illegal recruitment, and estafa at a regional trial court in Nueva Ecija.

Several court hearing schedules since March have been reset due to procedural reasons and scheduling conflicts. The latest hearing was initially set for Wednesday, June 18, but Veloso’s legal team confirmed to Rappler on Tuesday that the court reset it again as the SC has yet to rule on the parties’ respective motions to allow the conduct of the hearing at the CIW.

Both the prosecution and the defense motioned for the hearings to be moved to the CIW, pointing to technical issues in the April 23 hearing conducted via videoconferencing. In its motion, the prosecution said the hearing was “adversely affected by poor internet connectivity, resulting in the temporary disconnection of the parties and considerable difficulty in hearing.” They said the technical disruptions may impair continuity in the next hearings.

The Public Attorney’s Office, representing Veloso’s recruiters Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao, moved for Veloso, Sergio, and Lacanilao to be physically present in hearings at the CIW.

In the April 23 hearing, Veloso saw Sergio through a computer screen, which led her to become visibly distressed, according to Josa Deinla, one of Veloso’s private lawyers. However, Olalia said that Veloso is “ready, willing, and able” to testify.

The defense, meanwhile, said that an in-person hearing for everyone would also be beneficial for the accused to avoid the possibility of coaching for Veloso as the private complainant. They also said it would be burdensome for the court to observe Veloso’s demeanor, facial expressions, and manner during cross-examination if they continued with videoconferencing.

Possible pardon still in limbo

Veloso has done no crime in the Philippines, but Indonesia transferred legal jurisdiction of her drug smuggling case to the Philippines along with her physical transfer. Veloso’s family, lawyers, and supporters have since made calls to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to grant her absolute pardon, since she has long held that she was duped into acting as her recruiters’ drug mule when she went to Indonesia in 2010.

Olalia said that while Veloso’s testimony as a human trafficking victim might prompt the government to grant her amnesty, it is not a prerequisite for such a move, since Marcos could decide based on humanitarian grounds. The President has had the prerogative to pardon Veloso since her transfer.

In 2015, Veloso was spared from execution in Indonesia after the Philippine government convinced their counterparts to turn her into a state witness who would help expose an international drug trafficking syndicate.

In November 2024, Indonesia’s new president Prabowo Subianto allowed her transfer back to the Philippines to live out the rest of her sentence. When she stepped on Philippine soil, her life was spared since there is no death penalty in the country.

Sergio and Lacanilao were found guilty of illegal recruitment in a separate case in 2020. – Rappler.com