All We Want for Christmas for Mary Jane
Sa wakas, nagkasundo na ang Indonesia at Pilipinas na maaaring iuwi na si Mary Jane Veloso!
Three days ago, on December 6th, the governments of Indonesia and the Philippines signed the agreement to finally send MARY JANE VELOSO home to the Philippines. Domestic worker Veloso was arrested in 2010 at the airport in Indonesia for carrying 2.6 kilograms in the lining of her suitcase. Veloso, a victim of labour trafficking, was deceived and used by illegal recruiters/traffickers to unknowingly carry drugs in her suitcase. She was detained, convicted, and sentenced to die by firing squad. In 2015, loud international clamor to save Veloso from death by firing squad was enough for the Indonesian government to give her a reprieve that day.
That was 2015, nine years ago. Mary Jane has been in prison for 14 years. She is now 39 years old, with two children in the Philippines who have grown up without her, and with two aging parents who have endured her unjust imprisonment.
There is HOPE that Mary Jane could be home before Christmas or at least before the New Year. There is happiness, carefully restrained, because anything can happen, in spite of that agreement. Never has the possibility of a transfer/release/repatriation been so tangible as this agreement, which has been described as a “novel and unprecedented agreement”.
In mid-November, the case of Mary Jane was raised in a meeting between Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Gina Jamoralin and the Coordinating Minister Yusril Mahendra of the Indonesian Ministry for Law, Human Rights and Immigration which was published in the Indonesian Media Organization Kompas. That conversation made possible the agreement of transfer.
Ikukulong ba si Mary Jane pagdating niya sa Pilipinas?
It is terrible to think that Mary Jane Veloso will arrive in the Philippines and taken directly to the Women’s Correctional, and not to her children and parents! To serve a life sentence in the Philippines? We should not forget that her illegal recruiters/traffickers have been convicted and serving their sentences at the National Penitentiary!
The moral imperative is for president Marcos Jr. to grant clemency to Mary Jane Veloso upon her return. This is the position of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) who have commended the Indonesian and Philippine governments for the transfer agreement.
Why clemency? It is the just and moral thing to do. Period.
Teka, pwede ba mag-order ng clemency si Marcos, Jr.? Pwedeng pwede kasi ang sabi ng Indonesian Minister for Law and Human Rights, in a statement released on November 20, 2024, that they will fully respect President Marcos’ decision to issue clemency to Veloso upon her return to the Philippines.
Atty. Edre Olalia, Veloso’s private lawyer and the chairperson of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), outlined three grounds for clemency when Mary Jane returns. “First, humanitarian considerations – she’s been detained for 14 years. Second, she’s a victim of human trafficking. And third, that there is no law allowing for capital punishment in the Philippines.”
Nasa kapangyarihan ng Presidente ang magbigay ng executive clemency. Alam nyo ba ito? Ang dating Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ay pinatawad o nagbigay ng pardon kay Joseph Estrada sa kaso nito ng plunder, at ang dating presidente na si Rodrigo Duterte ay pinatawad ang United States Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton sa kaso ng homicide sa pagpaslang nito sa transgender woman na si Jennifer Laude (susmaryosep!!!). Hindi ba mas may matibay, mas makatwiran, mas may legal na batayan na bigyan ng clemency si Mary Jane Veloso?
Olalia also said that the domestic case against Veloso’s traffickers must also continue and that the Regional Trial Court in Nueva Ecija is currently setting a date for Veloso’s deposition, which could be taken in the Philippines if the transfer proceeds.
Bakit pa? Olalia, as quoted in PhilStar Global in November when the transfer was still being considered, said: “The deposition must still push through, whether she’s in Indonesia or here. Even if she’s released, we want to establish that she is a victim of human trafficking. This case is emblematic of our other countrymen who are taken advantage of by drug syndicates and end up becoming a victim.”
Migrante International, the biggest global alliance of Filipino migrant organizations, the Church Task Force to Save Mary Jane, and the National Union of People’s Lawyers continue to lead the local and international campaign, to save Mary Jane from death by firing squad, to the immediate and urgent call to bring her home free. In no uncertain terms, they said: “President Marcos Jr. must continue to exert all efforts to obtain Mary Jane’s testimony for the pending human trafficking case against her illegal recruiters to establish legally through the PH regional trial court in Nueva Ecija that Mary Jane is a victim of human trafficking. Mary Jane and her family deserve full justice and their traffickers must be held accountable. “
An executive clemency for Mary Jane Veloso is an “act of grace”, a description from the Dept of Justice 2003 report. After all that has happened with Mary Jane Veloso, no one will disagree.
Paano makakatulong na makauwing tiyak si Mary Jane at mabigyan ng clemency?
Pumirma sa petition, ipaikot ito sa mga kaibigan, simbahan, organisasyon, atbp. Ang petisyon na Bring Mary Jane Veloso Home and Grant Her Immediate Clemency ay nasa change.org
Sa Paskong ito, ang inyong lagda o signature ay isang regalo kay Mary Jane.
By E.Maestro
