The Philippine migrant worker, who was condemned over a drug conviction, will be transferred home as a prisoner, officials said.
BenarNews staff,Manila/Jakarta
Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina who has spent 14 years on death row in Indonesia, will be coming home but will stay behind bars for the immediate future after being transferred to the custody of Philippine authorities, officials said.
The legal odyssey of this migrant worker, who was condemned to death over a drug conviction, and long-drawn out efforts to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough in her case have captivated the attention of Filipinos.
After the Marcos administration announced on Wednesday that Indonesia had agreed to transfer Veloso to Philippine custody, officials in Jakarta were quick to emphasize that she would not be released as a free woman.
She would be expected to be imprisoned in the Philippines as a condition for her repatriation, they said.
However, it remained unclear how she would serve time in prison back home because the Philippines has abolished the death penalty.
“After a decade of diplomacy and consultations with the Indonesian government, we managed to delay her execution long enough to reach an agreement to finally bring her back to the Philippines,” Philippine President Fredinand Marcos Jr. said in a statement.
“Mary Jane’s story resonates with many: a mother trapped by the grip of poverty, who made one desperate choice that altered the course of her life. While she was held accountable under Indonesian law, she remains a victim of her circumstances.”
No date for Veloso’s return has been set. But Manila officials said it could happen before Christmas.
Eduardo de Vega, the Philippine undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, said Veloso would be placed into custody after coming home as the government negotiates with Indonesia to grant her clemency.
“So, when she gets here, if she gets here, she will not immediately be released. It means, we will commit to detain her until such time that [there’s a] mutual agreement that she could be given clemency,” De Vega said in a statement.
“But at least, she would be here.”
Veloso, a housewife and mother of two, had traveled to Indonesia in April 2010 to find a job as a domestic worker. She was arrested at the airport in Yogyakarta with 2.6 kg (5.7 pounds) of heroin in her suitcase.
She was tried in Indonesia and sentenced to death, but her execution was postponed in 2015 at the eleventh hour following an appeal from Manila to review her case.
‘Not an acquittal’
In Jakarta, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections, said that Veloso was not being released from her sentence and Indonesia had agreed to send her back to the Philippines as a prisoner.
“[I]t is not an acquittal, not a pardon, but (she will be) transferred to the Philippines as a prisoner,” Yusril said in a video statement.
“There is no mention of ‘release’ in President Marcos’ statement. ‘Bring her back to the Philippines’ simply means returning her to the Philippines,” Yusril added.
The Indonesian government had received an official request from the Philippines for Veloso’s transfer.
However, Yusril emphasized, certain conditions must be met, including recognition of Indonesia’s final court ruling, which sentenced Veloso to death for drug trafficking, and an agreement that she would serve out the remainder of her sentence in the Philippines.
“Once she returns to her country and continues her sentence there, the responsibility for her rehabilitation shifts to her home country,” Yusril said.
Separately, Natalius Pigai, Indonesia’s minister of Human Rights, said that a prisoner transfer was the most appropriate option under human rights principles, because it would allow Veloso to serve her sentence in her home country without altering her legal obligations.
“Mary Jane remains in Yogyakarta. She has not been classified as ‘free.’ Our legal team is reviewing the matter,” he told BenarNews.
The Philippines and Indonesia have yet to finalize a written agreement regarding Veloso’s return, according to de Vega, the Philippine undersecretary.
“If you mean if there’s a written agreement, there is still no answer. But [Indonesian authorities] are the ones who went to us to talk about this, so we’re extremely confident it will happen,” he said during a news briefing on Wednesday.
‘Thank you, Indonesia’
In January, Marcos personally interceded on behalf of Mary Jane Veloso’s family with then-Indonesian counterpart Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. Widodo has been succeeded by Prabowo Subianto, who took office last month.
“I extend my heartfelt gratitude to President Prabowo Subianto and the Indonesian government for their goodwill,” Marcos said in his statement.
“Thank you, Indonesia. We look forward to welcoming Mary Jane home,” he said.
Indonesia has some of the world’s harshest anti-narcotics laws, with courts often imposing the death penalty for drug trafficking. However, some human rights activists and legal experts have questioned the effectiveness and fairness of Indonesia’s anti-drug policy and called for a moratorium on executions.
While Philippine officials welcomed Veloso’s eventual return to Manila, her mother said her family preferred that she remain jailed in Indonesia rather than stay in detention back home.
“For us, her family, if Mary Jane is flown back home but she will still be detained, we’d rather see her jailed in Indonesia because she’s safer there. Even though we can visit her in prison here, [criminal] syndicates might just kill her while in detention,” Celia Veloso told local radio station DWPM.
Jason Gutierrez reported from Manila, the Philippines and Pizaro Gozali Idrus from Jakarta, Indonesia.
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