The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Central Luzon visited the family of Mary Jane Veloso in General Mamerto Natividad, Nueva Ecija, on Sunday, providing P50,000 in cash assistance.

Veloso and her parents received P30,000, with each receiving P10,000, while her two sons — Mark Daniel and Mark Darren Candelaria — also received P10,000.

“Our goal is not only to address her immediate needs, but also to help her start anew and become more self-sufficient,” DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said.

“The Department is here to guide her and her family at every step as she readjusts to her life with her loved ones,” she added.

The DSWD also conducted an assessment for the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), during which Veloso expressed her intention to establish a sari-sari store at their home in Nueva Ecija as a potential source of livelihood for her family.

Dumlao noted that the DSWD is focused on ensuring that the Veloso family has a stable source of livelihood and that their needs identified through the assessment are properly addressed.

“Mary Jane is now free, and we want her return to her family to be followed by an opportunity for her to start anew,” the agency spokesperson said. 

The social welfare department noted that the visit formed part of its continuing efforts to extend appropriate social protection interventions to vulnerable individuals and families. 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has recently granted an absolute pardon to Mary Jane following Veloso’s 16 years of detention over a drug trafficking case in Indonesia in 2010.