The Supreme Court’s Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) has been asked by the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) to act on a referral from a Nueva Ecija trial court seeking permission to hold hearings at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City, where Mary Jane Veloso is detained.

The NUPL, in a letter dated 30 October and addressed to Court Administrator Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta, followed up on the status of the referral made by Regional Trial Court Branch 89 in Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija.

The case involves Veloso’s alleged recruiters, Maria Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao, who are facing charges of qualified trafficking in persons, illegal recruitment, and estafa.

Veloso, an overseas Filipino worker, was convicted of drug trafficking in Indonesia in 2010 and was granted an indefinite reprieve to allow her to testify against her alleged traffickers in Philippine courts.

She has maintained that she was duped into carrying heroin hidden in her luggage by the accused.

The NUPL said Veloso was repatriated to the Philippines on 18 December 2024 and has since been held at the CIW, attending court proceedings remotely.

On 11 June 2025, the Nueva Ecija court granted a joint request from both the prosecution and the defense to hold hearings inside the CIW for security and logistical reasons, and referred the matter to the Supreme Court for approval.

In its letter to the OCA, the NUPL reiterated that a prompt decision would “substantially advance the interests of justice” and provide “critical relief” to Veloso and her family.

Attached to the letter was an appeal from Veloso’s family seeking executive clemency, consistent with a statement from Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correctional Affairs, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, who said Jakarta would respect any clemency decision made by the Philippine government.

“The suspension of her execution was intended to allow her to testify against her alleged illegal recruiters and human traffickers before the Philippine courts,” the petition stated.