Recruiter washes hands of Mary Jane ordeal, pins blame on 2 ‘African-looking’ men

Mary Jane Veloso, who is on death row in Indonesia for drug smuggling, is innocent of the charges against her as she is a victim of foreign drug traffickers who took advantage of her desperation to earn big money, her recruiter in the Philippines said in an affidavit.

In her counter-affidavit submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Ma. Cristina Sergio also denied that she and her live-in partner Julius Lacanilao had illegally recruited Veloso for a job in Malaysia, and that they are members of an international drug syndicate.

“Sila ang nagmamakaawang makautang ng pera sa amin para maka-biyahe si Mary Jane at maghanap ng trabaho sa ibang bansa,” said Sergio, referring to Veloso and Veloso's husband Michael Candelaria.

She also said that Philippine investigators have yet to produce evidence linking them to foreign drug syndicates.

“Kung kami ay matagal nang tinitiktikan ng National Bureau of Investigation... at kung may ebidensiya na nakalap laban sa amin na kami ay sangkot sa sindikato ng illegal na droga, sana ay inaresto na kami ng awtoridad ngunit hindi kami inaaresto o kinakasuhan dahil alam nila na wala naman talaga kaming ginagawang masama,” Sergio said.

The Indonesian government gave a last-minute reprieve on Veloso's execution last April 29 to allow her to testify in the illegal recruitment case filed against Sergio and Lacanilao.

“Ike” and “John”

In her counter-affidavit, Sergio said she was with Veloso at a shopping mall in Malaysia in April 2010 when they met two “African-looking” men who offered Veloso a job that involved transporting a bag to Indonesia. Days later, Veloso was arrested at the Yogyakarta Airport after authorities found 2.6 kilos of heroin sewn into the seams of her luggage.

“Base sa pag-uusap namin noong ikinuwento niya ang pakikipag-usap niya sa dalawang mukhang Aprikano na maitim ang balat na si 'Ike' at 'John' at ang kinahinatnan niya sa Indonesia, malinaw na si Mary Jane ay nabiktima lamang ng mga lalaking kumausap sa amin at sa matinding nais niyang matulungan ng husto ang kanyang pamilya sa kahirapan ay mas pinili niyang gawin na agad ang trabahong pinagdadala siya ng 'hand-carry' bag papuntang Indonesia at malamang ay binayaran siya para dito,” said Sergio.

Sergio and Lacanilao submitted their sworn statements during the second day of preliminary investigation at the DOJ in Manila on Wednesday.

Simple job

Sergio said Veloso tagged along with her to Malaysia to look for a job on April 21, 2010. Three days later, on April 24, Veloso and Sergio were eating at a restaurant in front of the hotel where they were staying in, when two men, who Sergio described as “dark skinned with curly hair,” approached and befriended them.

Sergio said she ignored the men and went back to their hotel, while Veloso chose to entertain the two. Upon returning to their hotel room, Veloso supposedly told Sergio that the two men, who identified themselves as "John" and "Ike," had offered a “simple job” for her.

Sergio claimed she discouraged Veloso from coming with the two strangers, but Veloso allegedly did not listen to her.

Sergio later found out from Veloso that she was asked to bring with her to Indonesia not a hand-carry bag but a luggage.   

“Ako ay naniniwalang hindi talaga alam ni Mary Jane Veloso na bigla siyang pagdadalahin ng maleta imbes na hand-carry bag lamang, ng mga nakipag-usap sa kanya na mga lalaking maiitim ang balat at hindi rin niya ito alam na siya ay pinagdala ng ipinagbabawal na droga,” said Veloso.

“Ako ay naninindigan na si Mary Jane Veloso ay nabiktima lamang at pinagsamantalahan ang kanyang kahinaan sa pag-iisip, masidhing pangangailanan ng trabaho at ang kanyang likas na angkin nya mapagtiwala sa mga tao, kahit hindi niya kilala,” she added.

Sergio and Lacanilao are currently facing a large-scale illegal recruitment case before a Nueva Ecija court for allegedly duping three other victims. They are separately undergoing preliminary investigation in connection with Veloso's case. —KBK, GMA News

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