A court in Nueva Ecija has convicted the alleged traffickers of Mary Jane Veloso for large-scale illegal recruitment involving three other women.
Veloso is currently in death row in Indonesia over alleged drug smuggling.
Judge Anarica Castillo-Reyes sentenced Maria Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao to life imprisonment and ordered them to pay a fine of Php2 million according to the ruling.
LornaValino, Ana Marie Gonzales, and Jenalyn Paraiso were the complainants of the case.
The case involving Veloso, who remains imprisoned in Indonesia, is still up for decision.
Last year, the Supreme Court has allowed her to testify against Lacanilao and Sergio on her case.
“While legally separate and distinct, this bolsters our case that Mary Jane is herself a victim,” NUPL Edre Olalia said.
“Only difference is that unlike the three other victims, she actually proceeded and left for abroad and met her misfortune,” he added.
The court found enough evidence against the two recruiters.
“All told, the Prosecution having sufficiently mustered sufficient evidence to secure a guilty verdict, the Court is left with no other recourse save to render a judgment of conviction,” the ruling states.
Olalia hopes that Veloso will also get a favorable ruling from the court.
Veloso was sentenced in 2010 for an execution but was spared in 2015 after her recruiters surrendered to the authorities.
