Mary Jane Veloso, showing a batik design she created during her time at Yogyakarta Women’s Correctional Institution Class IIB in Wonosari, Yogyakarta on Dec 13, 2024. - AFP
MANILA: Malacanang Palace on Tuesday (Dec 17) said nothing is final yet on the possible pardon for overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Mary Jane Veloso, who is set to return to the Philippines after over a decade of imprisonment in Indonesia.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the government, at the moment, is focused on facilitating her immediate return.
“Nothing to say yet on what may happen. The priority of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is to have Veloso repatriated without delay,” Bersamin told reporters when asked about the potential for a presidential pardon in the wake of recent developments.
Veloso was arrested and sentenced to death in 2010 after the suitcase she was carrying was found to be lined with 2.6 kg. of heroin.
She had maintained her innocence, saying she was an unwitting drug mule for a Philippine employment recruiter.
She was given a last-minute reprieve in April 2015 when the Philippine government informed Indonesia that her recruiters had surrendered.
Last month, Marcos bared that Indonesia agreed to repatriate Veloso.
Malacanang on Monday evening confirmed Veloso’s imminent return to the country, adding that the country will honour the terms of her return, details of which have yet to be disclosed. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
