Mary Jane comes home

For sure, there will be many epal or credit-grabbing moments with the return to the country today of Mary Jane Veloso.

Politicians will be scrambling to promise her ayuda courtesy of taxpayers. After all, their generosity won’t cost them a single cent out of pocket. And there will be more where the ayuda will come from, with the 2025 national budget packed with billions for patronage (AKAP, AICS, the padded public works allocation) on top of the new pork barrel, the unprogrammed appropriations.

If we didn’t have such folks with the gall to call themselves public servants, there will surely be far fewer Filipinos who are compelled to find work – any work – overseas, even if it means leaving their loved ones at home.

With universal quality education, our people need not take on jobs overseas that citizens of the host countries refuse to do. Better education and higher skills mean decent compensation and a long-term, sustainable way out of poverty, unlike occasional dole-outs that depend on the political season.

We have one Filipino drug mule saved from execution or life in prison in a foreign land. We still have dozens more, languishing behind bars in other countries including China, which like Indonesia is tough on drug trafficking.

Some mules go into the illegal trade willingly, aware of the massive profits from drug trafficking. The sustained global crackdown on prohibited drugs helps reduce the scourge, but greater risks also drive up prices and consequently the profits.

Others, however, engage in drug trafficking with fear and reluctance, driven by desperation arising from financial need.

Still others are genuinely unaware of the illegal nature of the activity, but are conned into serving as mules.

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Indonesia under President Prabowo Subianto is sending Veloso home just days after doing the same for five of the so-called “Bali Nine” – the Australians who were convicted for trying to smuggle out of Bali 8.3 kilos of heroin strapped to their bodies in 2005. One was just 18 at the time of his arrest. Two of the Bali Nine were executed by firing squad; one died of stomach cancer and another – the lone woman among the nine – was freed on parole in 2018.

The “Bali five” – now aged 38 to 48 – were freed upon arrival in Australia last Sunday. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the men had already served 19 years in prison, and “it was time for them to come home.” Australia thanked Indonesia for the repatriation of the convicts “on humanitarian grounds,” and announced that they would undergo “personal rehabilitation and reintegration.”

Countries in Southeast Asia have tough drug laws. The region is home to the opium-producing Golden Triangle and numerous no-man’s lands where crypto and other cyber scam hubs operate, and where shabu and other prohibited substances are produced.

Apart from working as drug mules, Filipinos have been conned into such scam hubs in Southeast Asia, believing that they would be working in IT or business process outsourcing companies with high-paying jobs. The liberalization of the exchange of human resources within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has facilitated intra-region employment but also human trafficking.

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Mary Jane Veloso, high school dropout, married at 17, and soon separated and a single mother of two, ventured to Dubai to work as a housemaid and provide for her children and other members of her extremely poor family.

She didn’t finish her two-year work contract, returning to the Philippines reportedly after her employer tried to rape her – a common problem among our female migrant workers.

Back in the Philippines, she was recruited by Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao to work as a household service worker in Malaysia. As placement fee, Mary Jane forked out P20,000 of her hard-earned money plus a cell phone and a motorcycle.

In Malaysia, Mary Jane was told that the job was no longer available, but there was a similar job opening in Indonesia. While a plane ticket was procured for Indonesia, Sergio reportedly bought additional clothing and a new suitcase for Mary Jane. Carrying the new suitcase, Mary Jane flew into Yogyakarta International Airport, where authorities found 2.6 kilos of heroin concealed in the lining of her luggage.

As of yesterday, there was still no word from Marcos 2.0 on possible clemency for Mary Jane. Two speculations emerged. One, it was the Philippine government’s gesture of courtesy to Jakarta, which had earlier said it would leave Mary Jane’s fate to Manila.

Two, the drug scourge has always been a touchy issue for a president who has been openly accused by his opponents of being a cocaine addict. These opponents are now saying that under BBM’s softer approach to the problem, the drug menace has resurged.

The Philippines, like its Southeast Asian neighbors, is tough on illegal drugs – and I’m not even referring to the summary execution of drug suspects. By law, mere possession of a few grams of marijuana can put you away for several years.

Mary Jane was caught transporting 2.6 kilos of heroin – whether unwittingly or not is usually immaterial under the law. But Indonesia considered Philippine appeals based on the argument that she had been duped and was a victim of human trafficking.

Today Mary Jane is back.

More than ayuda handed out by politicians (who are not supposed to be involved in aid distribution, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development), she needs self-empowerment, through upskilling and adult literacy programs, in case she is freed.

After saving her from death and life in prison, the next step is to ensure that she will no longer see the need to find work overseas.

The same goes for millions of other Filipinos. Working overseas should be a choice rather than a necessity.