Migrant workers group calls for release of Mary Jane Veloso

AN OVERSEAS Filipino workers (OFWs) group on Sunday urged President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to order the release of drug convict Mary Jane F. Veloso, stressing that petitions for her release have long been filed by migrant advocates and rights groups.

“Now, as Marcos, Jr. refuses to hear her every appeal for her freedom, let us collectively amplify Mary Jane’s story and voice from prison to Malacañang and win her the justice and freedom she deserves,” Migrante International Chairperson Joanna Concepcion said in a statement.

The group added that the Marcos administration has already received petitions and appeals to grant Ms. Veloso clemency. Groups have also filed an appeal to the Supreme Court to expedite cases against her recruiters.

Ms. Veloso continues to claim innocence, and echoed calls for her immediate release.

“I wish for nothing more than to be with my family who have been separated from me for more than 16 years. I hope to be given the opportunity to take care of my parents while they are still alive and especially,” she said in a letter sent by Migrante.

“For some reason, after one year, I am still here in prison even though I have not committed any wrongdoing, even in our country,” she added.

She said that her family has experienced difficulties in visiting her in prison, having to travel eight to 10 hours.

Ms. Veloso was arrested in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 2010 with 2.6 kilograms of heroin concealed in a suitcase, she claims that she was coerced to be a drug mule.

She was spared from death row in 2024 after Manila and Jakarta signed an agreement transferring her custody and is currently being detained in the Correctional Institute for Women in the Philippines. — Adrian H. Halili