Clemency for Mary Jane Veloso? Marcos says ‘we will see’
MANILA, Philippines — While President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is optimistic about domestic helper Mary Jane Veloso’s return to the Philippines, he remains tight-lipped about whether he will grant her clemency upon her arrival.
On Wednesday, Marcos made a shocking announcement that was 14 years in the making: Veloso can finally come home to the Philippines after being imprisoned in Indonesia since 2010 due to drug trafficking charges.
While the government is still fine-tuning the details of Veloso’s transfer, one thing remains clear: she is not a free woman yet.
Asked in an ambush interview in Nueva Ecija about granting clemency to Veloso, Marcos said “we will see.”
“This is the first time this is happening. So, that… everything is on the table,” Marcos said.
Indonesian Chief Minister for Law and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra has provided more details on Veloso’s transfer.
However, Marcos said he remained grateful to the Indonesian government for the decision on Veloso.
“They said they have no interest of imprisoning or executive Mary Jane Veloso. However, that is why we sought a new way. And they did it for us,” Marcos said in Filipino,
In a video statement posted by Reuters, Mahendra clarified that they are not releasing Veloso, and they will merely transfer her back to the Philippines under certain conditions. One of these conditions is that the Philippines must acknowledge and respect the verdict of the Indonesian court.
Mahendra affirmed, however, that Marcos would be the one who had the power to give Veloso a pardon.
“We will fully respect the decision by the authority of President Marcos in enforcing their law in their country,” Mahendra said in Indonesian.
Veloso's counsel and kin have asked Marcos to grant her clemency upon her return, a request that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has said was unrealistic.
Veloso has been on Indonesia's death row for more than a decade. She was supposed to be executed in 2015 but the late president Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino III intervened, asking the Indonesian government to treat her as a witness instead.
Philippine authorities have remained largely tight-lipped on the details of Veloso’s transfer. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has explained that while physical custody Veloso will be with the Philippines, Indonesia still has legal custody over her.
In a joint statement released by the DOJ and the DFA, they said that the Philippines must uphold Indonesia’s ruling on Veloso.
“We are bound to honor the conditions that would be set for the transfer, particularly the service of sentence by Mary Jane in the Philippines, save the death penalty which is prohibited under our laws,” the two agencies said.
Since the Philippines does not have the death penalty like Indonesia, the DOJ said that Veloso’s sentence here is likely life imprisonment.
That is unless Marcos grants her clemency.
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