Trial of MJ Veloso’s Recruiters to Proceed
By Ina Reformina, ABS-CBN News
Posted at 07/06/2015 4:01 PM
MANILA – The trial against the alleged illegal recruiters of Mary Jane Veloso will proceed before a Nueva Ecija court.
This, after the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Baloc- Nueva Ecija junked Maria Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao’s motion for the dismissal of the criminal information against them.
“Motion to quash filed by Sergio and Lacanilao denied by Branch 37, RTC-Baloc, Nueva Ecija,” Justice Secretary Leila De Lima told ABS-CBN News in a text message.
The trial court has scheduled their arraignment on July 21.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted Sergio and Lacanilao on the basis of three complaints filed by Lorna Valino, Ana Marie Gonzales, and Jenalyn Paraiso, who all claimed they were illegally recruited “large-scale” by the accused.
Aside from this case, a complaint against Sergio and Lacanilao for human trafficking, illegal recruitment, and estafa filed by the National Bureau of Investigation Anti-Human Trafficking Division (NBI-AHTRAD) on behalf of Veloso remains pending with the DOJ. This case will be resolved anytime soon.
Separate cases for human trafficking and estafa are also pending with the DOJ against the two, involving other complainants.