Marcos hopes for clemency to jailed Filipina on alleged drug charges
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed hope that the recent development on the case of Mary Jane Veloso "will merit her clemency at the appropriate time".
In a statement Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said Marcos made his statement after the legal interrogatories required from the Philippine Regional Trial Court on the case of Veloso have been sent to Jakarta for her to answer."
Lazaro said it will be part of Veloso's "testimony on the pending case that she filed against her illegal recruiters."
"The Philippine government will continuously exhaust all efforts to assist Ms. Veloso and her family," she said.
Lazaro said the family of Veloso was able to spend several days with her through the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta last Christmas.
The family of Veloso appealed for her clemency through letters for Indonesian President Joko Widodo and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Veloso's family, including her children and her father, Cesar and mother Celia together with a group of migrant organizations gathered at Mendiola bridge near Malacanang Palace to air their appeal during the bilateral meeting of Widodo and Marcos on Wednesday.
As the general election of Indonesia is set next month Veloso's father hopes that she will be freed before Widodo's term ends.
"I hope that before the President of Indonesia, Mr. Widodo, steps down, he grants clemency to my child so she can come home before he leaves office," Cesar Veloso said.
Veloso, who was apprehended at the International Airport in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in April 2010 for alleged possession of 2.6 kilograms (2,600 grams) of heroin found in her luggage was sentenced to death in October 2010.
Her execution was delayed when former President Benigno Aquino III appealed to Indonesia to turn Veloso into a state witness in 2015.
Joanna Concepcion, Chairperson of Migrante International, said the current status of Mary Jane remains on death row, and the Indonesian government could schedule her execution at any time.
Concepcion noted that "what happened in 2015 was just a temporary reprieve."
"It is just temporary because of the charges filed against her traffickers. The Indonesian government is waiting for that," she said. Robina Asido- Eric Acidre/DMS
