Pinay convicted of drugs in Indonesia to return home; gov’s eyes clemency

By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienof, A reporter

FILIPINO domestic worker Mary Jane F. Veloso will finally return to the Philippines after a decade in prison in Indonesia, authorities said, a development widely welcomed in a country known for exporting its workers.

But Ms. Veloso will remain in custody when she arrives in the Philippines until the two Southeast Asian neighbors reach an amnesty agreement, Immigration and Foreign Affairs Secretary Eduardo de Vega said at a Palace briefing on Wednesday.

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. announced earlier in the day that Manila and Jakarta had reached an agreement to return Ms. Veloso to the Philippines, citing ten years of diplomatic talks between the two nations.

The Filipino overseas worker was sentenced to death in October 2010 and given the death penalty in April 2015. Ms. Veloso, who was caught smuggling 2.6 kilograms of heroin hidden in the lining of a suitcase, is a victim of human trafficking, according to her lawyers.

“Arrested in 2010 for drug trafficking and sentenced to death, Mary Jane’s case has been a long and difficult journey,” said Mr. Marcos in a statement, insisting that he is a victim.

“After more than a decade of negotiating and negotiating with the Indonesian government, we were able to delay his execution long enough to reach an agreement to finally return him to the Philippines.”

Mr. De Vega, the official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), said that the Indonesian government did not ask anything.

But Ms. Veloso “will not be released immediately” when she arrives in the Philippines.

“It means that we will commit ourselves to imprisoning him until that time when we agree [with Indonesia, decide] to get compassion,” he said. “But at least he’ll be there.”

When asked if Ms. Veloso, the only Filipino on death row in Indonesia, survived the punishment completely, he said: “Nothing is 100%, but the fact that Indonesia is talking to us about the transfer of money, is the most likely indication that I have no intention of killing her.”

“And obviously, once he’s here, he’s completely safe.”

While the Philippines will have a hand in keeping Ms. Veloso, legal custody will remain in Indonesia, Philippine Department of Justice (DoJ) spokesman Jose Dominic F. Clavano IV said in the same forum.

“The Indonesian government knows that there is no death penalty here, and they respect it, which was clearly considered when they issued a policy to return some prisoners to their countries,” he said.

“Indonesia does not give up its power over the case,” said Mr. De Vega. But technically, the Indonesian government has already agreed “that there will be no execution and that is still a big concession.”

Mr. Clavano said the Department of Justice in the Philippines is still working on a detention center for Ms. Veloso, and among the options is the Women’s Correctional Center in Mandaluyong City.

Philippine senators welcomed the development, with Senate Migrant Workers Chairman Rafael T. Tulfo citing Mr. Marcos’ “successful diplomatic efforts paved the way” for Ms. Veloso’s imminent return.

Senate President Francis G. Escudero in a statement expressed his gratitude to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and the entire Indonesian government for their compassion.

“We ask the concerned authorities to ensure Mary Jane’s safety when she returns to the Philippines and reach out to her family and allay any fears or concerns they may have about her transfer,” he said.

Much credit should go to the DFA, which handled his case for a long time, said Hansley A. Juliano, who teaches political science at Ateneo de Manila University.

‘GREAT PRESIDENTS’
“At the same time, we must also consider Ms. Veloso’s misfortune in dealing with two presidents who are politicians trying to portray a ‘tough on crime’ image on both sides of the Philippines and Indonesia,” he added, citing the former Philippine president. Rodrigo R. Duterte and former Indonesian President Jokowi Widodo.

The spokesperson of Mr. Foreign Minister Duterte in 2016 said he told Mr. Widodo said that he “respects their judicial processes and will accept whatever final decision they reach regarding his case.”

Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto R. Yasay made this statement after reports that Mr.

Ms. Veloso’s drug-trafficking case had long been decided, but the Indonesian government in 2015 agreed to postpone her execution amid an ongoing trial against her employers in a trial court in Nueva Ecija province north of the capital Manila.

And it helped so much that the late President Benigno SC Aquino III asked Indonesia at the eleventh hour to turn Ms. Veloso into a state witness.

His foreign secretary, the late Albert F. del Rosario, had said that Indonesia had granted Ms. Veloso a permit to allow her to testify against her employers, a move the Aquino government said would deal with a drug-trafficking group linked to the group. victims’ employers.

Mr. Clavano said Ms. Veloso’s return will speed up the case as “it is very easy for us to have a witness who will remove her from the prosecution.”

“The reason why this trial took so long is because the opportunity or opportunity to interview or take his testimony was rare. It will involve a lot of expenses, the whole team to be in Indonesia, including the judge himself,” he explained.

“Therefore, whenever we take his testimony by application, the Indonesian government requires the entire team including the judge and prosecutors to be there,” he added. “Therefore, considering the work of all these government officials and family programs, it is very difficult to come up with the same system.”

Having him here in the Philippines will be easier and can speed up the trial process.

‘TRANSFER MANAGERS’
The Liberal Party, the vehicle of Mr. Aquino went to the 2010 presidential election, saw the efforts of Mr. Marcos also noted that saving Ms. Veloso “torn the administration’s duties.”

“During PNoy’s (Mr. Aquino) tenure, the DoJ and DFA worked for a last-minute cancellation of the Mary Jane killing that culminated in PNoy’s midnight phone call to then-President Widodo of Indonesia,” the statement said.

“It was a race to make a deal with President Widodo, so close that some Philippine newspapers aired morning programs reporting on the killing which was said to be fortunate that it did not go ahead,” it added.

As for the time of Mr. Duterte, all credit for saving Ms. Veloso from execution goes to Indonesia, as tough-talking Filipino politicians “say his government doesn’t care if a criminal like Mary Jane is finally killed,” the Liberal Party said.

“This was in line with his policy of killing drug suspects in his country,” it added. “Finally, the Philippine government has succeeded in ending its mission to stop his execution once and for all.”

The Philippine economy has been dependent on remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), due in large part to the labor code authored by Mr. Marcos, the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr., which was built in the 1970s.

The workers’ policy encouraged overseas contract work.

Estimates showed the number of OFWs to reach 10.2 million by 2023, including 2.3 million migrant workers. More than 50% of registered OFWs in the same year were women.

Remittances, which serve as an important source of income and foreign exchange for the Philippines, accounted for 8.5% of the country’s gross domestic product by 2023.

“We must ensure that no worker from the Philippines becomes a victim of another death penalty,” said Senator Mary Grace Natividad S. Poe-Llaanzares in a statement.