This article was first published on Coconuts Manila.

Ma. Cristina Sergio (a.k.a. Maria Kristina Sergio) and Julius Lacanilao — the alleged recruiters of Mary Jane Veloso — refused to enter a plea during their arraignment on the syndicated human trafficking charges filed by the Department of Justice before a local court in Nueva Ecija.

As such, the Court, as required by the Rules, entered a mandatory plea of not guilty into the record in their behalf.

"It may be recalled that Veloso was arrested in 2009 in Indonesia with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin sewn into the lining of her suitcase. She was set to be executed on Apr 29, 2015. However, she got a last-minute reprieve when the Indonesian government found out that her recruiter had been arrested in the Philippines," reports Armand Galang in Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Veloso testified that her recruiters had most likely been responsible for hiding the heroin in her suitcase. The Indonesian government has suspended Veloso's execution pending then result of the trial against her recruiters.

The pre-trial of Sergio and Lacanilao's case is set on Mar 9, 2016.