AFTER a decade and a half of detention in Indonesia, Filipino worker and death row convict Mary Jane Veloso comes home.
Veloso was indicted for drug trafficking, a case in which she claimed innocence.
The OFW arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport via a Cebu Pacific commercial flight.
The 39-year-old Filipina was flanked by Philippine officials led by Department of Foreign Affairs undersecretary Eduardo de Vega.
She was sentenced to death for drug trafficking, when she was caught with some 2.6 kilos of heroin in Indonesia in 2010.
But then, in 2015, after appeals by then President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, then Indonesian President Joko Widodo gave Veloso a “temporary reprieve” from her scheduled execution.
In November of this year, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced that Manila and Jakarta had reached a consensus to transfer Veloso to the Philippines.
Veloso thanked God for the decision of the Indonesian government as she will finally go home.
“Nagpapasalamat po ako sa lahat…sa Pilipinas,” Veloso said. …Maraming salamat kay President Prabowo…kay Pangulong Marcos,” she told the media before leaving Indonesia.
“This is my new life which I’ll start again in the Philippines,” she added, now able to speak in Bahasa, the main language of Indonesia.
“I have been in Indonesia for almost 15 years, I was not able to speak Indonesian back then but now I can… I am so happy today but also sad,” she said.
Veloso then sang parts of Indonesia’s national anthem and even made a heart shape with her hands as she bids goodbye.
Clemency
She also said that presently, she wants to be with her family first as she prays that she will be given clemency by President Marcos Jr.
“Gusto ko na makalaya ako… Clemency… mapawalang sala. Kasi wala akong kasalanan,” she said as she departs from Indonesia.
Upon her return she will be brought to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City for a five-day quarantine.
After quarantine, the Bureau of Corrections noted that Veloso would still have to stay at the correctional facility for 50 days.
Malacanang is happy with the development but cannot fully state what will happen moving forward.
“Nothing to say yet on what may happen. The priority of PBBM is to have Veloso repatriated without delay,” said Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.
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