Veloso execution remains suspended

MANILA, Philippines - The execution of convicted Filipina drug mule Mary Jane Veloso remains suspended.

Two sources privy to Veloso’s case said the Philippine delegation went to Jakarta and Yogyakarta last week to give Indonesians updates on Veloso’s human trafficking case against her alleged recruiter, Maria Kristina Sergio. 

Jakarta Post quoted Indonesia’s Attorney General M. Prasetyo as saying “any request to free Mary Jane (Veloso) would be difficult to realize as she has been proven to have smuggled heroin into the country.”

But Prasetyo, according to the Jakarta Post report, said if the Filipino courts found Sergio guilty then Veloso could try to use the results as “new evidence to be considered in a case review or clemency appeal.”

The STAR’s sources, who requested anonymity since they do not have the authority to speak on the issue, said the week-long trip was “successful” in the sense that Veloso’s execution remains suspended.

The sources were also grateful that the Indonesian government continues to evaluate Philippine’s request for a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT).

“This gives us hope,” one of the sources said.

One of the main concerns under MLAT was whether to grant Manila’s request to get a deposition from Veloso, whom Indonesia sentenced to death for smuggling 2.6 kilos of heroin in 2010. 

The deposition, or an out of court testimony used as evidence, is seen to bolster her case against Sergio.

Manila considers Veloso as a primary witness in Sergio’s human trafficking case pending before a Nueva Ecija court.