Palace eyes absolute pardon for Mary Jane Veloso

Mary Jane Veloso could soon be granted an absolute pardon by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., more than 16 years after she was arrested in Indonesia for drug trafficking.

The development in the case of the 41-year-old Filipina was disclosed Wednesday during House plenary deliberations on the proposed P10.15-billion budget of the Office of the President for fiscal year 2027.

“The Office of the President is seriously considering to grant absolute pardon to Mary Jane Veloso on humanitarian grounds in support of the government’s commitment to protecting the Filipino migrant people,” OP budget sponsor and Bataan 2nd District Rep. Albert “Abet” Garcia said.

Garcia was responding to the interpellation of Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Elago, who noted that Veloso remains detained at the Correctional Institution for Women after her repatriation from Indonesia in December 2024.

Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 after authorities found 2.6 kilograms of heroin concealed in her luggage. She was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to death but has consistently maintained that she was tricked into carrying the drugs.

Her execution was stayed at the last minute in 2015 to allow her to testify in the Philippine human trafficking case against her alleged recruiters. The Supreme Court has described how Veloso traveled abroad following a false promise of employment by Maria Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao, who were later charged with qualified trafficking, illegal recruitment and estafa.

Veloso returned to the Philippines on 18 December 2024 after more than 14 years in Indonesian detention and was transferred to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City. Under the transfer arrangement, clemency remained an option for the Philippine government.

Elago questioned why Veloso remained behind bars despite her case being widely cited by advocates as one involving human trafficking and exploitation as an unwitting drug courier.

She said Veloso had been deprived of years with her family and children because of the “injustice” she suffered.

“Mary Jane had been separated from her family for nearly a decade, from her parents that are older now, and from her children who were small when she last saw them. She has been robbed of so many years because of the grave inhumanity she experienced,” Elago said.

Asked when a decision on Veloso’s pardon could be announced, Garcia said there would be “an announcement in a few days.”

Veloso has sought clemency since returning to the Philippines.

Elago welcomed the development but stressed that the government should strengthen legal safeguards for migrant workers and victims of human trafficking.

She also called for better employment opportunities in the Philippines to reduce the economic pressure that drives Filipinos to seek work overseas.