Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 22) — Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina who has been on death row for years in Indonesia, got a visit from her family in her detention cell last week, a reunion five years in the making.
In a statement on Wednesday, the group Migrante International said Veloso’s parents and her two sons visited her detention cell in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
“After five long years since the last time they were together, they were able to reunite and spend a significant time with Mary Jane for two days,” it added.
“Masayang-masaya ako na nakasama ko muli ang Mama ko,” Mary Jane’s eldest son Mark Danielle was quoted as saying. “Sa kabilang banda, malungkot na dalawang araw lang kami nagkasama. No’ng pauwi na kami gusto ko siyang iuwi na sa Pilipinas.”
[Translation: I am very happy that I was able to be with my mom again. On the other hand, I am sad because it was only for two days. When we were about to leave, I really wanted to take her with me back to the Philippines.]
Celia, Mary Jane’s mother, said she really missed her daughter and hoped it would be their last visit to the correctional facility as they look forward to her homecoming.
“Hindi na dapat umabot ng isa pang taon. Hinding hindi ako susuko hanggang sa makalaya ang anak ko,” Celia was quoted as saying.
[Translation: Her imprisonment should not last for another year. I will never give up until my daughter is free.]
Migrante International chairperson Joanna Concepcion, Mary Jane’s lawyers Edre Olalia and Minnie Lopez, and Bishop Nonie Francisco from the United Church of Christ in the Philippines accompanied Veloso’s family.
Also present were representatives from the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs who helped facilitate the visit.
DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said the government is hopeful that Indonesia will consider the Philippines’ request for clemency for Veloso.
READ: PH gov’t seeks executive clemency for Mary Jane Veloso
“Every day na buhay siya, that means nakikinig ang Indonesia sa atin [Every day that she’s alive, that means Indonesia is listening to us],” De Vega said in a televised public briefing on Thursday.
“We think as an ASEAN neighbor and friend, I think the Indonesian government will be, you know, lenient to our pleas,” he added. “At least maraming allies si Miss Veloso, di lang [Miss Veloso has many allies, not only the] Philippine government but even some people in Indonesia.”
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De Vega said Indonesia’s National Human Rights Commission and women’s groups there are supportive of Veloso, but the commission is hoping for movement in the human trafficking case filed against the Filipina’s recruiters.
Veloso was arrested in 2010 for allegedly smuggling heroin into Indonesia and was sentenced to death by firing squad in October 2010.
The execution was set in April 2015, but she was granted a last-minute reprieve through a stay of execution to stand as a witness in the human trafficking case against her recruiter Kristina Sergio and Sergio’s partner Julius Lacanilao.
