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THIRD DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 240053, October 09, 2019 ]
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PETITIONER, VS. MARIA CRISTINA
P. SERGIO AND JULIUS LACANILAO, RESPONDENTS.
DECISION
HERNANDO, J.:
The peculiar factual circumstances surrounding the present case give rise to a novel
question of law. May a prosecution witness, like Mary Jane Veloso (Mary Jane), who
was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to death by the Indonesian
Government and who is presently confined in a prison facility in Indonesia, testify by
way of deposition without violating the constitutional right to confrontation of a witness
by the accused?
This petition for review on certiorari[1] under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court assails the
December 13, 2017 Decision[2] of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 149002
which granted respondent's Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition and reversed the
August 16,2016 Resolution[3] of the Regional Trial Court (trial court), Branch 88, of Sto.
Domingo, Nueva Ecija, granting the motion of the prosecution to take the deposition by
written interrogatories of Mary Jane in Indonesia.
The Factual Antecedents
Mary Jane, Maria Cristina P. Sergio (Cristina), and Julius L. Lacanilao (Julius) were
friends and neighbors in Talavera, Nueva Ecija. Taking advantage of her dire situation
and susceptibility, Cristina and Julius offered Mary Jane a job as a domestic helper in
Malaysia. Believing that the job was a ray of hope, Mary Jane scraped whatever meager
money she had and when the amount was not even enough to pay Cristina and Julius
as placement fee, she resorted to borrowing from relatives. Still, the amount gathered
was insufficient prompting Mary Jane's husband to sell even their precious motorcycle.
On April 21, 2010, Mary Jane, together with Cristina, eventually left the Philippines for
Malaysia. However, to Mary Jane's dismay, she was informed by Cristina upon their
arrival in Malaysia that the job intended for her was no longer available. After spending
a few days in Malaysia, Cristina sent Mary Jane to Indonesia for a seven-day holiday
with a promise that she will have a job upon her return in Malaysia. Cristina gave Mary
Jane her plane ticket as well as a luggage to bring on her trip.
Upon Mary Jane's arrival at the Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta,
Indonesia, she was apprehended by the police officers for allegedly carrying 2.6
kilograms of heroin inside her luggage. She was accordingly charged with drug
trafficking before the District Court of Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
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