We welcome the recent announcement by President Marcos Jr. that Mary Jane Veloso would be returning to the Philippines from Indonesia soon.
Veloso was arrested in 2010 at Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta after she was found in possession of more than 2.6 kilograms of heroin. She maintained she was unaware of the contents of her luggage as it was only given by her recruiters as an overseas Filipino worker (OFW). Nevertheless, she was handed a death sentence by a court and has spent the last 14 years an Indonesian jail.
Philippine authorities have successfully negotiated with their Indonesian counterparts for the transfer of Veloso to a Philippine prison to serve her sentence. After all, her recruiters identified as Julius Lacanilao and Maria Cristina Sergio have already been convicted here for human trafficking.
Her long-time advocates and lawyers are urging President Marcos Jr. for clemency for her on humanitarian grounds and as a matter of justice, once she returns.
The Philippines has already abolished the death penalty. We should emphasize that fact to Indonesia. We have the sovereign right to uphold our own legal and judicial processes that would include the grant of clemency to convicted persons.
An earlier statement from Indonesia’s legal and human rights ministry has already indicated that they would leave it up to the Philippine government whether to grant remission or clemency to Veloso.
Our Department of Foreign Affairs also deserves commendation for exerting efforts for the successful resolution of this issue, which seeks justice for Veloso and her family while strengthening the deep bonds of friendship between the Philippines and Indonesia.
However, news reports indicate that Celia Veloso, Mary Jane’s mother, has expressed misgivings that her daughter may not be safe in the Philippines if she would still be imprisoned upon her return.
For her, it would be better for her daughter to stay detained in Indonesia than be jailed in the Philippines. Why? Because, she said, “we feel safer because we see the treatment (in an Indonesian prison) of Mary Jane whom they love so much. But here in the Philippines, we are not sure because we are against an international syndicate.”
Celia also recalled an incident where armed men once stormed their residence. This prompted the police and the National Bureau of Investigation to secure their home, while Mary Jane’s husband and children, as well as her parents, hid in a safehouse in Manila.
But Mary Jane’s children are said to be happy upon learning that their mother will return to the country, and that their mother could finally be home soon. We hope so as well, and wish that the Veloso family could be whole again.
