(CNN Philippines) — Maria Cristina Sergio, the alleged recruiter of convicted drug mule Mary Jane Veloso, stands by the latter’s innocence.
In page 30 of the counter-affidavit submitted by Sergio and her live-in partner Julius Lacanilao on Wednesday (May 20) to the Justice Department, Sergio made known her belief that Veloso unknowingly smuggled drugs into Indonesia in 2010.
Related: Mary Jane Veloso: Job search ends in death row
“Ako ay buong pananalig at naniniwalang inosente si Mary Jane Veloso sa kasong pagdadala ng illegal na droga na mula Malaysia patungo ng Indonesia kung saan kinakaharap niya ang parusang bitay sa Indonesia,” said Sergio in the last portion of her sworn statement.
[Translation: “I wholeheartedly believe that Mary Jane Veloso is innocent even if she was found guilty of transporting illegal drugs from Malaysia to Indonesia, where she is currently facing the death sentence.”]
Related: Veloso’s execution suspended
In her statement, Sergio denied that she and Lacanilao duped Mary Jane into bringing prohibited drugs abroad as she recounted how two African-looking men, who went by the names “Ike” and “John,” took advantage of Veloso.
“Ako ay naninindigan na si Mary Jane Veloso ay nabiktima lamang at pinagsamantalahan ang kanyang kahinaan sa pag-iisip, masidhing pangangailanan ng trabaho at ang kanyang likas na angkin nya mapagtiwala sa mga tao, kahit hindi niya kilala.”
[Translation: “I firmly believe that Mary Jane is just a victim of the men who took advantage of her dim-wittedness, her dire need for a job, and her tendency to trust in people easily — even those she doesn’t know well.”]
Related:Filipino on death row: This is God’s will
According to reports, “Ike” surfaced in investigations, where he was tagged as a possible member of the West African Drug Syndicate.
Although Sergio admitted meeting “Ike” and “John” in Malaysia with Veloso, she maintained all throughout the statement that she didn’t know the African-looking pair’s intentions — to turn into Veloso into an unwitting drug mule. In fact, Sergio said that she was surprised to receive a call from Veloso, who informed her that her luggage had been tampered with.
Despite this, Veloso still agreed to carry the luggage that was supposedly handed over to her by “Ike” and “John” because she might have been paid to do so, Sergio added.
Sergio also swore that her partner, Julius Lacanilao, had nothing to do with Mary Jane’s being convicted for drug trafficking.
Related: Mary Jane Veloso’s recruiter surrenders
“Ako ay nanunumpa na walang kaming kinalaman ni Julius Lacanilao sa nangyari kay Mary Jane kung saan siya ay pinagbitbit ng maleta na may laman na illegal na droga mula Malaysia patungong Indonesia dahil hinding-hindi namin ito maatim na gawin sa kapwa namin dahil hindi naman kami mga kriminal at hindi namin magagawang ipahamak ang kapwa namin kababayan tulad ni Mary Jane Veloso,” the statement read.
[Translation: I swear that Julius Lacanilao and I had nothing to do with what happened to Mary Jane — when she was made to bring luggage that contained illegal drugs from Malaysia to Indonesia — because we cannot bear to do that to any person. We aren’t criminals and we will never put any fellow Filipino like Mary Jane Veloso in harm’s way.”]
On top of defending Mary Jane, Sergio also said that she helped Veloso financially. According to the alleged illegal recruiter, she lent money to Veloso so that she can travel to Malaysia.
Atty. Edre Olalia, Mary Jane’s legal counsel, said that Sergio’s statements can be used as evidence to prove Veloso’s innocence in Indonesian courts.
“It can be used as a basis by our Indonesian counterparts. In fact, they are actually waiting already for the translation from English to Bahasa so they will communicate immediately with the attorney general’s office about this statement,” Olalia said.
Related: Veloso’s Indonesian lawyer in PH to gather evidence
Meanwhile, a lawyer from the public attorney’s office seconded that Sergio and Lacanilao’s statements should be utilized. The two should stand as state witnesses in Veloso’s drug trafficking case in Indonesia, the lawyer said.
Sergio and Lacanilao’s handwritten statement was shown to media on Monday (May 18) before it was filed at the Department of Justice Wednesday afternoon.
Related: Suspects in Veloso trafficking case to file denial statements
CNN Philippines’ Mikas Matsuzawa, AC Nicholls, and Brian Poe contributed to this report.
