The village is adjacent to the Poblacion here and is home to about 4,000 residents benefitting much from the vastly improving first class town of Nueva Ecija located 15 kilometers north of Cabanatuan City.
"We are affected by the Veloso case," said Jimmy Dumaguit, barangay chair. "Mary Jane is one of our own here as she is married to a native of the place and her two children stay here. The two persons she accused of being responsible for her trip abroad that caused her woes are from our village," He added.
Veloso was convicted by the Indonesian court when authorities found in her luggage 2.6 kilograms of heroin upon arrival in that country’s airport. Her execution last week was postponed upon orders of Indonesian President Joko Widodo because of the new evidence presented in the Philippines about her case.
The new evidence involved the filing of cases of illegal recruitment, human trafficking, and estafa before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Maria Kristina Sergio and her live-in partner Julius Lacanilao.
“We have joined prayer-vigils in Cabanatuan City for Mary Janes’ deliverance from execution,” Dumaguit said. “But we have not allowed rallies against Sergio and Lacanilao condemning them for their alleged involvement in Mary Jane’s case,” he added.
Mayor Neri Santos-Martinez also said they have been lending support to the cause of Mary Jane ever since.
“Whenever her kin approach us for financial assistance for their travels to Manila to get support for the jailed Mary Jane (in Indonesia), we always provide them,” she added. “A few days before Mary Jane’s husband and children went to Indonesia to be with the doomed Pinay before her scheduled execution, we gave them some financial assistance,” she added.
At the municipal building here, a big tarpaulin, heralds the town’s plea for Mary Jane’s deliverance from sure death. The tarpaulin reads:
“Iligtas ang buhay ni Mary Jane. Ang bayan ng Talavera ay kasama ng sambayanang Pilipino na nagdarasal para sa kanyang kaligtasan (Save the life of Mary Jane. The town of Talavera is praying for her deliverance.”
Santos said the Lacanilaos have not approached them for assistance but if they need our support, we can give them whatever we can as they are also our own.
“It’s difficult to judge them off-hand. Let the court decide if they are guilty or not,” she added.
Sergio and Lacanilao had sought police protective custody because of what Maria Kristina said they were threatened of bodily harm by Mary Jane’s husband, Michael Candelaria, and her parents Cesar and Celia.
Reports said Mary Jane became acquainted with Sergio, who is a native of Naga City, through her live-in partner Julius. Sergio, a cum laude graduate of Camarines Sur Polytechnic College who left her husband and five of their children after working abroad, used to go abroad as property marketing assistant.
Mary Jane’s parents used to stay in Barrangay Esguerra here and were close to the Lacanilao family. They now stay in Barangay Caudillo, Cabanatuan City.
Meanwhile, Supt. Wilson Santos VI, police chief here, said this town has also its share of drug users and peddlers and based on monitoring by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Region III it is in the top ten list of towns and cities in this province facing illegal drugs problem.
“But we have no information that there are drug mules here, illegal drug syndicates, or drug laboratories. Based on confessions by some arrested peddlers, the supply here comes from Cavite,” Santos said. “The drugs are procured at P7,000 to P8,000 per bulto (five grams) and is peddled for over P12,000 in small sachets,” he added.
Santos attested that the names of Sergio and Lacanilao are not in the watch list of those involved in illegal drugs.
