Veloso says grateful, elated for chance to return to PH
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he is considering clemency for Mary Jane Veloso, the overseas Filipina worker convicted of drug trafficking in Indonesia who is set to return to the Philippines soon.
“We will see. We will see… This is the first time something like this has happened,” President Marcos said.
Veloso, who was jailed for 14 years in Indonesia was arrested in 2010 for smuggling 2.6 kilograms of heroin and later sentenced to death by firing squad.
She has consistently maintained her innocence, claiming that an international human trafficking syndicate duped her.
Veloso on Thursday said she was “elated” to be returning home after a deal brokered between the two nations.
“I am very elated to hear there is an opening chance for my hope to return home and be with my family,” Veloso said in a written statement read by the prison warden Evi Loliancy.
“I’m grateful and would like to thank everybody who keeps making efforts so I can return to my country,” she added.
The 39-year-old said she would utilize skills she has learned in prison, including local cloth-dying techniques, to earn money for herself and her family.
Veloso’s family maintained the mother of two was duped into signing up for a non-existent job abroad as a domestic worker and was not aware the suitcase given to her by the recruiter contained hidden drugs.
Mr. Marcos credited the strong diplomatic ties with Indonesia and efforts spanning multiple Philippine administrations for Veloso’s eventual return.
He highlighted the cooperation of both former Indonesian President Joko Widodo and current President Prabowo Subianto in finding a resolution.
“Our relations with Indonesia and its leaders made this possible,” Mr. Marcos said. “They had no interest in executing or detaining Mary Jane, so they found a way to help us.”
“We have been working on this for… All the previous presidents, not just me. It was 10 years in the making,” he added.
In a post on X, former senator Leila de Lima, who led the Department of Justice under the late President Benigno Aquino III, said “saving Veloso traversed administrations.”
“During the time of PNoy, the DOJ and DFA worked for a last-minute reprieve on Mary Jane’s scheduled execution culminating in a midnight phone call of PNoy to then President Widodo of Indonesia,” De Lima said.
De Lima noted, however, things were not the same when President Rodrigo Duterte took over.
She said all credit for keeping Veloso alive during Duterte’s term must go to Indonesia because the former president “could not care less” if the OFW was executed given his brutal anti-drugs campaign.
De Lima thanked and congratulated President Marcos for succeeding in the mission to grant Veloso a permanent stay of execution
“Congratulations to the BBM Administration for Mary Jane’s impending return to the Philippines after years of waiting in Indonesia’s death row. It is extremely important to save even just one like, because a single death is always one death too many,” De Lima said.
On Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said the aim of the government “would be not just for her to be transferred but for the president, our president, to be able to issue clemency.”
“It is possible that President Marcos will grant pardon and change her sentence to life imprisonment, considering that the death penalty has been abolished in the Philippine criminal code, so this step is within the full authority of the President of the Philippines,” he said.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla added: “If she has to serve a life term, she will serve the life term but we are against the notion of death penalty. It is something that we oppose.”
For her part, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros urged the government, particularly law enforcement agencies, to provide security for Veloso upon her expected return to the Philippines.
Veloso’s mother, Celia, earlier expressed concerns for her daughter’s safety if she is transferred to a Philippine jail.
“Here in the Philippines, we cannot be certain because we’re up against an international drug syndicate,” Mrs. Veloso said.
Hontiveros said: “We saved her from the death penalty; her life and safety must be safeguarded. She has become a victim, and this is an additional reason to dismantle the syndicate.” With AFP
