Jakarta to free Filipino death-row convict

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Wednesday that a deal has been reached for Indonesia to send home a Filipino death-row drug convict who was nearly executed by firing squad but got a reprieve due to years of pleadings from Manila.

Marcos thanked Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and his government for granting a longstanding Philippine request for Mary Jane Veloso to be brought back home to serve her sentence in her country.

“Mary Jane Veloso is coming home,” Marcos said in a statement.

“Arrested in 2010 on drug trafficking charges and sentenced to death, Mary Jane’s case has been a long and difficult journey.”

It was not immediately clear when Veloso would be flown back to the Philippines, but Marcos said he looked forward to welcoming her home.

Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights and Immigration, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, confirmed that Subianto has given his approval for Veloso’s return to the Philippines.

That may happen in December, as long as conditions were met, including her continued detention in her country as part of the Indonesian court’s sentence.

The Philippines should also shoulder the costs of her repatriation, he said.

Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said at a news conference in Manila that Filipino authorities would discuss the legal terms of Veloso’s transfer with their Indonesian counterparts.

The Indonesian government has asked the Department of Justice in Manila to formally request Veloso’s transfer back to the Philippines, Justice Department spokesperson Mico Clavano said.

The decision, Marcos said, “is a reflection of the depth our nation’s partnership with Indonesia - united in a shared commitment to justice and compassion.”

Veloso’s transfer would remove the possibility of her facing an execution because the Philippines, Asia’s largest Roman Catholic nation, has long abolished the death penalty.

In 2015, Indonesian authorities moved Veloso to an island prison where she and eight other drug convicts were scheduled to be executed by firing squad despite objections from the convicts’ home countries, including Australia, Brazil, France, Ghana and Nigeria.

Associated Press