OSG asks CA to lift injunction vs. Mary Jane Veloso’s testimony


By RIE TAKUMI, GMA News
The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has asked the Court of Appeals to reconsider its ruling stopping Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina on death row in Indonesia, from testifying against her alleged recruiters in the Philippines.
In a 43-page motion filed on January 16, the OSG asked the CA'S 11th Division to set aside the reversal of Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija Regional Trial Court decision to allow Veloso to testify against Maria Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao.
Veloso has accused Sergio and Lacanilao of duping her into bringing heroin to Indonesia, resulting in her arrest and conviction.
In the same petition, the OSG asked for the dismissal of the instant petition against the use of Veloso's statement in the hearing against the defendants.
"Unusual predicament"
According to the OSG, the CA ignored the extraordinary circumstances that lead to Veloso's imprisonment in Indonesia.
"The People respectfully submits that Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina OFW convicted of drug trafficking in Indonesia and sentenced to death but granted retrieve, thus, remains under the custody of law in Indonesia, is suffering from an unusual predicament," the OSG said in its motion.
"Verily, her personal appearance before the trial court for the presentation of her testimony cannot be reasonably exepected owing to her detention in an Indonesian jail."
It also said taking Veloso's deposition will not violate the rights of Sergio and Lacanilao, as argued by the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) on their behalf.
Veloso, 33, was supposed to give her deposition on April 27, 2017 from Yogyakarta prison. PAO, however, argued that her deposition was against the constitutional rights of their clients and cited Section 14 paragraph 2 of the Bill of Rights, which gives, among others, an accused the right to a speedy, impartial, and public trial and meet the witnesses face to face, and to have compulsory process to secure the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence.
Indonesia's government delayed Veloso's execution by firing squad in 2015 to allow the court to process the case against Sergio and Lacanilao.
Gross injustice
The National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL), Veloso and her family's counsel in the Philippines, meanwhile lauded the OSG's move.
"We gladly welcome this position by the OSG on this specific case and particular issue as it is compatible and  is on all fours with our submission as Philippine counsels for Mary Jane and her family," said lawyer Edre U. Olalia, NUPL president.
According to Olalia, Sergio and Lacanilao have already "categorically and unequivocally" admitted that Veloso was a "victim" who did not know that her luggage contained heroin when she was arrested in 2010.
"Hence, to stop her from testifying is not only simply absurd and a gross injustice but is a matter of life and death for her," Olalia said.
Sergio and Lacanilao are facing qualified human trafficking, illegal recruitment and swindling charges. —KBK, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more