Indonesian President Joko Widodo gave a glimmer of hope for Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina on death row over drug charges, after he assured President Marcos that Jakarta will “reexamine” the case, Malacañang said on Thursday.
Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said Widodo made the commitment during his meeting with Marcos at the Palace in Manila on Wednesday.
“Yes, with the decision of the Indonesian government to look into the case filed by Mary Jane Veloso in the Philippines,” Garafil said when asked if Marcos received an assurance from Widodo that Indonesia would reexamine Veloso’s case.
This bolsteree President Marcos’ hopes that hopeful that Veloso would be granted clemency, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a separate statement.
“President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed hope that the progression of the case of Ms. Veloso will merit her clemency at the appropriate time,” DFA Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said in a statement.
Veloso, who turned 39 on Jan. 10, has been on death row for 14 years after she was convicted of drug trafficking.
In May last year, President Marcos asked Widodo to at least reexamine Veloso’s case during the 42nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.
Marcos said he brought up Veloso’s case with Widodo at the time, but they could not discuss it since the latter, as chairman of the summit, was busy.
He added that Indonesia’s position on Veloso’s case remains unchanged. Because of this, he appealed to Widodo if they could at least review her case.
“I said the best that we can do, I suppose, is for the Indonesian authorities to reexamine the case as a favor to the Philippines,” Marcos said.
“That’s all we discussed, not more than that,” he added.
Veloso is on death row in Indonesia and was supposed to be executed by firing squad after she was caught with 2.6 kilograms of heroin at an Indonesian airport in 2010. Veloso denied knowing the drugs were in her suitcase and blamed her recruiters.
In April 2015, she was granted a last-minute reprieve after the late president Benigno Aquino III personally appealed to Widodo on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia.
The Indonesian government delayed her execution after Veloso’s recruiters surrendered to Philippine authorities.
More than a year later, reports stated that former president Rodrigo Duterte told Widodo that the Philippines would not interfere with Indonesia’s legal processes.
Widodo left Manila on Thursday after a three-day visit to the Philippines, leaving Villamor Airbase at 12:40 p.m.
The Indonesian president met with President Marcos to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries. The two leaders also discussed the developments in the South China Sea as well as a plan to strengthen border controls.
Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Gina Jamorain described Widodo’s visit as “fruitful, productive and successful,” citing the agreement on energy cooperation as a boost to the country’s energy security.
“You know that Indonesia supplies almost 80 percent of our coal so it’s important that we have a stable supply of coal for our energy needs,” she said.
