Jakarta—Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo has taken up the case of jailed Filipino overseas worker Mary Jane Veloso with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles confirmed on Monday.
Cruz-Angeles said the Department of Foreign Affairs continued to look for solutions for Veloso, who was convicted of drug trafficking after she was caught with 2.6 kilos of heroin in her luggage at Yogyakarta airport in 2010.
“On that, we can confirm because Secretary Manalo did announce that. That’s the only thing we can confirm,” Cruz-Angeles said when asked if Manalo had discussed Veloso’s case with Marsudi on Sunday.
Asked for details, Cruz-Angeles said, “Wala po, eh (None, sorry). They’re very sensitive issues. As you know it is a public matter that she has been convicted but our DFA continues to look for solutions.”
On whether President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. brought up the matter with Indonesian President Joko Widodo when they met on Monday, Cruz-Angeles said, “No, I cannot confirm that.”
Veloso was sentenced to death in 2010 after she was convicted of drug trafficking. She denied the charges and insisted that her recruiters tricked her and gave her a suitcase that contained illegal drugs in its seams.
Veloso’s recruiters, Maria Cristina Sergio, and Julius Lacanilao were charged with human trafficking, illegal recruitment, and estafa cases.