Indonesia: Transfer process to take place next month
MARY Jane Veloso, in death row for years in Indonesia for drug trafficking charges, will soon return to the Philippines following an arrangement reached between the two countries, President Marcos Jr. said yesterday as he extended his gratitude to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and his government.
“Mary Jane Veloso is coming home,” the President said in a statement but did not give details on what had been agreed upon.
“After over a decade of diplomacy and consultations with the Indonesian government, we managed to delay her execution long enough to reach an agreement to finally bring her back to the Philippines,” Marcos also said.
The Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correction, in a statement, said that “Coordinating Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra estimates that the transfer process for Mary Jane will take place in December 2024.”
The Indonesian Ministry of Immigration and Correction Directorate General of Correction said no final agreement on the matter has been reached as this must still be discussed by the Indonesian Supreme Court and the Attorney General’s Office.
“The parties still have to formulate a policy to resolve the problem of foreign prisoners in Indonesia, such as through bilateral negotiations or the transfer of prisoners or the return of prisoners (exchange of prisoners). Indonesia has adopted a policy of transfer of prisoners, not exchange of prisoners based on a request from the country concerned,” it said.
“It can be concluded that until now there has been no agreement on the release and or return of Mary Jane Veloso to the Philippines,” it added.
Veloso’s family welcomed Marcos’ announcement but her mother, Celia, also expressed fears for her daughter’s safety in the country as she said her daughter she is up against an international drug syndicate.
Veloso’s legal counsel, Edre Olalia, has appealed to Marcos to grant her clemency amid her possible return, “on humanitarian grounds and as a matter of justice.”
Veloso, an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), was arrested in 2010 in an airport in Indonesia for allegedly smuggling 2.6 kilograms of heroin.
Marcos thanked Prabowo and his government for their goodwill, adding the outcome of Veloso’s case “is a reflection of the depth” of the Philippines’ partnership with Indonesia – “united in a shared commitment to justice and compassion.
“Thank you, Indonesia. We look forward to welcoming Mary Jane home,” Marcos said.
Prabowo’s office said Veloso would serve the rest of her sentence in the Philippines, citing diplomacy and reciprocal partnership in law enforcement as the reason for her transfer.
Veloso is currently detained at the Yogyakarta Women’s Penitentiary in Jakarta.
Marcos said Veloso’s case had been a long and difficult one which started with her arrest in Yogyakarta for drug trafficking charges in 2010 after 2.6 kilograms of heroin were found in her suitcase.
Veloso was spared from the firing squad at the last minute in 2015, after Philippine officials asked Joko Widodo, then Indonesia’s president, to let her testify against members of a human- and drug-smuggling ring.
In January this year, Malacañang said Widodo promised to review Veloso’s case.
The execution of eight other drug convicts went ahead, with Veloso’s reprieve described as a postponement by Widodo, whose presidential term ended last month.
Charges of human trafficking and large-scale illegal recruitment have been filed against Veloso’s alleged traffickers Julius Lacanilao and Cristina Sergio in a Nueva Ecija court, which resulted in a guilty verdict on the illegal recruitment case in 2020. The trafficking case is still pending and Veloso is a witness in the case.
Marcos said while Veloso was held accountable under Indonesian law, she remains a victim of her circumstances.
Veloso had always maintained her innocence, saying she was an unwitting drug mule for the recruiters. Court records say the recruiter asked Veloso to fly to the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta from Manila to hand a suitcase to a man. She was arrested after authorities there discovered heroin wrapped in foil hidden in the lining of her luggage.
Indonesia has harsh anti-narcotics laws and has executed several foreign nationals, including two Australians, who were leaders of the Bali Nine trafficking ring, in 2015.
NO FINAL AGREEMENT YET
Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in a briefing in Malacañang that there is no official, written agreement yet on Veloso’s return despite the announcement of the President of her return.
He said there is also no final date yet as to when she would return and no final conditions yet on her transfer to the Philippines.
De Vega said Marcos’ confidence on Veloso’s return to the country is based on something that only he knows or is privy to.
“So, let’s just say that we’re just going to fine-tune the details,” he said.
“If you mean a written agreement, there’s no answer yet. But they are the ones who approached us to talk about this. So we’re extremely confident that it will happen,” he said in mixed English and Filipino.
Justice spokesman Mico Clavano, in the same briefing, said Indonesia has asked the Department of Justice to submit a formal request for Veloso’s transfer to the Philippines, which the agency had already complied with.
Clavano said the Philippines is still waiting for the Indonesian government’s formal response to the transfer.
CONDITIONS FOR TRANSFER
The Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correction listed the conditions for Veloso’s transfer such as Veloso serving the remainer of her sentence in Manila, recognition by the Philippines of the court’s final decision on the drug case, and Manila should shoulder the cost of her return.
A decision on whether Veloso will be granted a pardon upon her return to Manila rests with the head of state, in this case President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. especially since the Philippines has no death penalty.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Veloso will be brought to the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong City upon her return to the country.
“If she has to serve a lifetime term, if that’s part of the conditions, so she will serve a life term. But we are against the notion of the death penalty, it is something that we oppose,” Remulla told ABS-CBN News Channel.
De Vega noted the Indonesian ministry last week said it is considering prisoner transfer for foreign inmates, including Veloso, as part of constructive diplomacy.
Indonesia is also gearing up for the implementation of its new policy on the “non-implementation of the death penalty except in certain cases” which would start in 2026.
De Vega also said Indonesia is not asking the Philippines for any favor in exchange for the transfer.
“There are a lot of speculations as to what the return or what was the condition. The Indonesians have not requested any payback for this … May I clarify, this is not in return for anything,” he said. – With Reuters