The Indonesian government on Friday issued the order for execution of 10 of its prisoners on death row. One of the convicts is 30-year-old Filipino domestic Mary Jane Veloso, found guilty of drug smuggling.
Veloso has been transferred from Wirogunan Prison in East Java to Nusakambangan, more popularly known as execution island. Death, by firing squad, is imminent.
In recent days, the Indonesian government has been flooded with appeals, official or otherwise, in last-minute efforts to save the life of the migrant worker who claims she was duped into carrying the drugs by no less than her godsister.
This is her story: In 2010, the godsister told Veloso about a job opportunity in Malaysia. In need of a bigger income to support her two children, she agreed. When she arrived in Malaysia, she was told that the job was in Indonesia, after all. Some 2.6 kg of heroin was put in her suitcase without her knowledge, and she was arrested at the Yogyakarta airport for possessing the drugs.
She was sentenced to death last year. The Indonesian Supreme Court rejected her appeal, which she made by alleging that her translator during the trial did not accurately convey what she said.
The Philippine government filed another appeal Friday. Earlier, Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is also Presidential Assistant for OFW Concerns, met with his Indonesian counterpart to beg for Veloso’s life on humanitarian considerations.
If we go by Indonesia’s record in clamping down on drug convicts, however, the prospects appear bleak. In January, six drug convicts—five of them foreigners—were executed despite appeals from their respective governments. Indonesian leaders say they are serious about fighting the drug menace.
We commiserate with Veloso’s plight, especially if she is indeed a hapless, unsuspecting victim who only wanted to earn a living. We hope we will no longer hear about similar heartbreaking stories—and that hinges on how well and how effectively our labor officials warn our outbound migrants that they should be doubly careful whom they trust once they leave our shores.
Then again, even governments cannot guarantee the conduct of their citizens abroad, even those who become desperate enough and take great risks, perhaps believing that law enforcement abroad is as erratic and inconsistent as what we have here.
Finally, we can only wish our government were as serious about fighting the drug menace in this country as Indonesia is. Alas, drugs are freely bought and sold even in the most unlikely places, such as prisons. Convicted dealers get away with plying their trade from behind bars, and most often with the help of those who are supposed to fight it.
Mary Jane’s fate may be out of our hands now; the drug scenario in our country isn’t.