Spared from execution in Indonesia, Filipina Mary Jane Veloso returns home

After 14 years on Indonesian death row, Veloso appeals for clemency from Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Camille Elemia, Gerard Carreon and Tria Dianti
2024.12.18
Manila and Jakarta
Spared from execution in Indonesia, Filipina Mary Jane Veloso returns home Filipina migrant worker Mary Jane Veloso (center) hugs her father upon arriving at the Correctional Institution for Women in Manila, as relatives look on, following her transfer from an Indonesian prison, Dec. 18, 2024.
Gerard Carreon/BenarNews

Filipina migrant worker Mary Jane Veloso has arrived in the Philippines to an emotional homecoming and appealed for a presidential pardon here after spending 14 years on death row in Indonesia for drug trafficking.

Veloso, who was in high spirits, was repatriated to Manila from Jakarta early Wednesday morning and immediately taken by authorities for detention at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW). 

The legal odyssey of Veloso, a housewife and mother of two who was condemned to death over a drug conviction in Indonesia, has captivated the attention of Filipinos. 

“I want to be free. [I want] clemency, to be declared innocent. I am innocent,” the 39-year-old told a Filipino TV station upon her return to Manila.

In a highly emotional reunion, her two sons, Mark Daniel and Mark Darren, were at the women’s prison to greet Veloso. 

Mark Darren, her youngest son, gave his mother a bouquet of pink flowers, as tears streaked their cheeks. He was only two years old when his mother left home. He smothered her with kisses.

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Filipina migrant worker Mary Jane Veloso holds flowers as she shares a tender moment with her two sons after they were reunited at the Correctional Institution for Women in Manila, Dec. 18, 2024. [Gerard Carreon/BenarNews]

Veloso’s mother and father, Celia and Cesar, were also at the prison, where they led a small group of relatives and friends for the tearful but short reunion. They brought her daughter’s requests: adobo, a Filipino dish with marinated and stewed meat, and pastillas, a kind of milk candy. 

Other relatives, who hail mostly from their province of Nueva Ecija north of Manila, also traveled to the facility to welcome Veloso.

“They’re hungry and sleep-deprived, but this is a positive kind of stress,” Veloso’s lawyer, Edre Olalia, told reporters outside the CIW. “But ultimately, they feel overwhelming happiness and energy because they saw her.”

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Filipina migrant worker Mary Jane Veloso breaks out in laughter after receiving a bouquet at the Correctional Institution for Women in Manila, Dec. 18, 2024. [Gerard Carreon/BenarNews]

Veloso had been scheduled to be executed along with several other convicts on death row nine years ago, but her execution was postponed at the last minute after Manila requested that her case be reviewed. 

The Philippines, a country heavily reliant on remittances from its overseas workers, had campaigned for years to secure Veloso’s release.

Indonesia and the Philippines had agreed last month that Veloso would be repatriated and transferred to the custody of Filipino officials.


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While waiting for her flight back to Manila, Veloso thanked Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto for allowing her repatriation to the Philippines.

“Thank you to Indonesia. This is my new life,” Veloso said, thanking the new Indonesian president in fluent Indonesian. 

“I’ve been apart from my family for [nearly] 15 years. Thank you to the Philippine government, I am very grateful.”

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Mary Jane Veloso (center), a Filipina inmate formerly on Indonesia’s death row, waves as she is repatriated to the Philippines after a press conference at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, near Jakarta, Dec. 17, 2024. [Juni Kriswanto/AFP]

Olalia, her attorney, described Veloso as a victim of circumstance who had tried to provide for her family, but was duped into carrying 2.5 kilograms (5.51 pounds) of heroin in Yogyakarta’s airport by a Filipina recruiter in 2010. 

That recruiter is also now in jail in the Philippines for a separate case.

When asked what they would be asking Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Olalia replied: “Absolute pardon for Mary Jane by Christmas.”

Future decisions on Veloso’s legal status, including any clemency and pardon, would be under the Philippines’ jurisdiction, where there is no death penalty.

A pardon refers to the complete forgiveness of a crime, while clemency is an umbrella term that includes pardon, reduction of sentence, and delay in beginning a sentence or its suspension.

After her arrival, Veloso was to undergo a mandatory five-day quarantine that would end on Dec. 24, but she was granted permission to spend Christmas Day with her family at the women’s prison, Bureau of Corrections Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said.







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