The lawyer of Mary Jane Veloso, the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who remains in death row in Indonesia has expressed hope the Supreme Court will allow her to testify against her recruiters.
Her lawyer says this would bolster Veloso’s defense that she was a human trafficking victim and not a drug dealer.
Atty. Edre Olalia of the National Union of Public Lawyers (NUPL) said that as the hearing in Nueva Ecija nears its end, he has hopes the Supreme Court will make its move by allowing Veloso to testify.
Olalia said the last hearing date for the human trafficking cases filed against Veloso’s recruiters was set on September 26.
The lawyer said that if the court would allow her to testify, she could send a written disposition of what happened at the witness stand because it is the only mode of communication allowed by the Indonesian government.
Veloso was arrested in 2010 after she was found carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her luggage.
She was about to be executed in 2015 but was stopped when her recruiters surrendered to Philippine government authorities.
