THE administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is continuously asking the Indonesian government to grant executive clemency to overseas Filipino worker Mary Jane Veloso, who has been in jail since 2010 over drug trafficking charges in Indonesia.
Marcos told reporters during the 42nd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Indonesia that the Philippine government did not stop in asking the Indonesian government for Veloso’s pardon, commutation of sentence, or even extradition to serve her sentence in the Philippines.
“But the Indonesians answered us that this is the law. Ito ‘yung batas dito sa Indonesia kaya’t kailangan natin ipagpatupad ‘yan. And they have already given us postponement … but that doesn’t mean it’s done,” Marcos said.
The chief executive added that the Philippine government is not giving up on Veloso as he emphasized that they are always bringing up her case with their Indonesian counterpart, hoping that they might change their mind.
“Sa ngayon, ganoon ang mga position natin,” the President said.
“We said, yes, we understand that she is convicted. We understand that the law in Indonesia is that way. But nonetheless, baka makahanap tayo ng paraan. Iuwi na lang namin ‘yan. Kami na magpaparusa sa kanya, whatever. Basta’t anyway to ask for clemency, to ask for grace when it comes to this,” he added.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had requested Indonesia on Sept. 6, 2022 to pardon Veloso who was arrested in Yogyakarta in 2010 after she brought a suitcase packed with more than 2.6 kilograms of heroin, and was sentenced to death in the same year.
