CA gives green light for trial of Mary Jane’s recruiters

MANILA, Philippines – The Court of Appeals (CA) has given the go-signal for the trial of the two alleged recruiters of Mary Jane Veloso on charges of illegal recruitment, qualified trafficking and estafa cases.

Veloso is the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) facing execution in Indonesia for drug smuggling.

In a two-page resolution released yesterday, the special 17th Division of the appellate court denied the plea of Ma. Kristina Sergio and her live-in partner Julius Lacanilao for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would effectively suspend the proceedings before Baloc, Sto. Domingo Regional Trial Court Branch 37.

The CA rejected the claim of the accused that they would suffer great injustice and irreparable injury in the trial.

The ruling penned by Associate Justice Ramon Cruz said a TRO is issued only in matters of “extreme urgency.”  

The CA also held that Sergio and Lacanilao failed to “sufficiently alleged a clear and unmistakable right and that there is an extremely urgent and paramount necessity for the issuance of a TRO.” – Edu Punay, Pia Lee-Brago