NEWS

Mary Jane granted absolute pardon

Raffy Ayeng · Sep 25, 2026, 10:31 PM

AFTER 16 years behind bars, Mary Jane Veloso (inset) prepares to walk free from the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s signing of her absolute pardon on 25 September. From a death sentence in Indonesia and years under the shadow of execution to a last-minute reprieve and repatriation to the Philippines, Veloso’s long ordeal now moves toward its final chapter. — Photograph by Zedrich Xylak Madrid for DAILY TRIBUNE

The long, tragic story of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina convicted of drug trafficking in Indonesia, has ended in celebration after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. granted her an absolute pardon.

“I signed her pardon yesterday,” Marcos told reporters during an engagement in Guiuan, Eastern Samar.

Veloso had been imprisoned in Indonesia for more than a decade after she was convicted of drug trafficking. She was eventually extradited to the Philippines following government efforts, led by Marcos, to secure her return. She had to continue serving her sentence, however, at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City.

During the 42nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit in Indonesia in May 2023, Marcos appealed to Indonesian President Joko Widodo for Veloso’s release and transfer to the Philippines to serve her sentence here.

Long journey home

In November 2024, Marcos announced that an agreement had been reached with Indonesia to bring Veloso home. The same month, Indonesia formally reduced her sentence from death to life imprisonment.

The President thanked the new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and the Indonesian government for their goodwill.

Veloso was officially handed over to the Philippines’ Bureau of Corrections on 18 December 2024.

The timing of Marcos’s pardon of Veloso, however, has raised suspicion in some quarters that it is intended to bolster his numbers and work toward the conviction of Vice President Sara Duterte in the Senate impeachment court.