Opposition solons seek clemency for Veloso

Opposition lawmakers filed a resolution on Wednesday urging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to grant clemency to Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina convicted and sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking, ahead of her anticipated return to the Philippines.

The resolution calls for the House of Representatives to initiate negotiations with the President upon Veloso’s repatriation. Its proponents — Representatives Arlene Brosas, France Castro, and Raoul Manuel — asserted that granting Veloso an absolute pardon was long overdue, aligning with her supporters’ belief that she was a “victim of her circumstances,” as President Marcos had previously acknowledged.

“Mary Jane has already suffered enough by being deprived of liberty for 14 years and by missing out on seeing her children grow up,” the resolution reads. “The grant of clemency to Mary Jane has been a long time coming considering she was a victim of human trafficking and not a drug mule.”

Veloso’s parents, who are scheduled to visit her in Indonesia next week ahead of her repatriation to the Philippines this month, were present during the filing.

The 39-year-old migrant worker from Cabanutan, Nueva Ecija, was arrested and put on death row in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 2010 after authorities discovered 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her suitcase.

Veloso was scheduled to be executed by firing squad in April 2015, but her execution was stayed at the last minute after then President Benigno Aquino III intervened.

Aquino’s appeal to then Indonesian President Joko Widodo led to Veloso being spared so she could testify against her recruiters, including her godsister Maria Kristina Sergio, who was implicated in an international drug ring and allegedly tricked Veloso into carrying the drugs.

Veloso will serve the remainder of her sentence in the Philippines with a high probability she will be granted executive clemency.

The Indonesian government has said it will defer to the Philippines should it decide to grant Veloso a pardon.

Veloso’s case, which sparked an international outcry, has become a symbol of resilience and the fight against human and drug trafficking. She has expressed elation over her looming repatriation to the Philippines after 14 long years behind bars.