Veloso supporters rally for clemency

MANILA, Philippines — Family members and supporters of Mary Jane Veloso staged a protest outside the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong yesterday, calling for her release, as she testified for the first time against her alleged recruiters.

Rally leaders Migrante International and other advocacy groups urged the government to grant Veloso clemency.

Veloso’s mother, Celia, appealed to President Marcos to free her daughter, who has been detained at the CIW since being transferred from an Indonesian prison in December 2024.

A former overseas Filipino worker, Veloso was arrested at an airport in Yogyakarta, Indonesia on April 25, 2010 after authorities found heroin in her suitcase. She was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to death, but she was granted a reprieve by the Indonesian government.

She has maintained that she was deceived by recruiters to serve as a drug courier.