PBBM to ask Indonesian President Widodo for Mary Jane Veloso clemency anew

MALACAñANG spokesperson Atty. Cheloy Garafil said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will ask Indonesian President Joko Widodo for clemency for Mary Jane Veloso, “as [he] has always done” when they meet.

Widodo is in the Philippines for a three-day official visit.

Veloso was spared from death row punishment in 2015 upon the request of former President Benigno Aquino III despite her conviction for possession of illegal drugs.

This was after she promised to testify in the human trafficking case against the recruiter that brought her to Indonesia for a job.

Veloso earlier said the luggage found with illegal drugs, which she was carrying when she was arrested, had been given to her by recruiters.

In May 2023, Marcos also asked Widodo to take another look at Veloso’s case.