Lawyer Edre Olalia, NUPL secretary-general, maintained that Veloso has standing reprieve pending legal proceedings in the Regional Trial Court in Baloc, Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija on cases filed against her alleged recruiters Julius Lacanilao and Ma. Cristina Sergio.
“As far as I know, it is still status quo,” Olalia said saying that the Indonesian news from where the reports started to circulate “refers to a general policy announcement about executions in general, without naming who are included and who are not.”
Olalia said that the court cases against livein partners Lacanilao and Sergio, along with an unidentified other, was the basis of the suspension of Veloso’s execution in April 2015.
“In addition, there is also a specific Indonesian official announcement late last year declaring executions are not their priority but their economy,” the lawyer said.
He said that the various charges of illegal recruitment against the suspects may be proceeding “not swiftly as we wish, but they are moving despite a cornucopia of dilatory legal acrobatics by the said recruiters.”
On Wednesday, the Court of Appeals denied the suspects’ motion to stop the RTC from hearing the large scale illegal recruitment. This is on top of the previous denials by the Department of Justice and the RTC on their various motions, according to Olalia.
“But we should continue to be on guard so Mary Jane can already come home sooner than later,” Olalia said.
Lacanilao and Sergio have since denied the allegations raised on Criminal Case No. SD (15)-3666 filed by the DOJ based on information and testimonies of Lorna Valino, Ana Marie Gonzales and Jenalyn Paraiso.
The duo, along with a certain ‘Ike” allegedly caused Veloso to bring a traveling bag with 2.6 kilos of heroin from Malaysia to Indonesia in 2010.
The Public Attorney’s Office serves as counsel for the suspects.
