Executed drug mule's alleged recruiter indicted

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) has approved the criminal indictment of Tita Cacayan, the alleged recruiter of Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, one of three Filipinos executed in China last March for being a drug courier, also known as a “drug mule.”

In a resolution released yesterday, the DOJ ordered the filing of charges of large-scale illegal recruitment and drug trafficking against Cacayan after Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Lilian Doris Alejo found probable cause in the complaint filed by Villanueva’s brother, Jayson Ordinario, who had confessed to being recruited by Cacayan as drug mule himself.

The DOJ gave weight to testimonies confirming that Cacayan bought Villanueva’s plane ticket to China and that Cacayan was not an authorized recruiter. Cacayan’s acts violated Section 6 of the Migrant Workers Act of 1995 (Republic Act 8042), the DOJ said.

Melita Comedes, owner and manager of Winluck Travel and Tours, testified during preliminary investigation that Cacayan had bought from them the tickets for Villanueva and her other alleged recruits. She claimed that Cacayan also gave Villanueva $500 pocket money and the suitcase Villanueva used in her trip.

The DOJ said “the offense is deemed to have (been) committed in large scale” since there were more than three jobseekers who were allegedly recruited by Cacayan.

As for the drug trafficking charge, the DOJ gave weight to Ordinario’s claim that Cacayan gave her 43 capsules of A-class cocaine. The DOJ, however, junked charges of human trafficking against her because transporting prohibited drugs to other countries “is not one of the purpose included or set forth in RA 9208 (Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act).”

The DOJ also cited Villanueva’s affidavit before her execution wherein she had named Cacayan as the recruiter who handed her the luggage – which she did not know contained illegal drugs – into China in 2008.