What could happen to Mary Jane Veloso’s case if she is transferred to PH?
MANILA, Philippines – Mary Jane Veloso, an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who has been on death row in Indonesia for over a decade, may have at her fingertips the scenario of having her life spared should her “possible” transfer to the Philippines push through, her lawyer said.
According to Edre Olalia, part of the team of Veloso’s private legal counsels and chairperson of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), her transfer would present a “unique legal situation” because while her sentence in Indonesia is execution, there is no death penalty in the Philippines.
The Philippines and Indonesia have “been engaged in discussions” regarding the possible transfer of Veloso to the Philippines to serve the rest of her sentence in a Philippine facility, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed on Tuesday, November 19.
The DFA’s confirmation was a reiteration of last week’s news from Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correction, which also confirmed this after talks with Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Gina Alagon Jamoralin on November 11. Veloso’s case was one of the agenda points, among other bilateral matters.
“If the request is granted, Mary Jane Veloso will continue to serve her remaining sentence in the Philippines, subject to the conditions determined by the Indonesian court’s ruling,” the Indonesian coordinating ministry said in a November 11 press release translated by Indonesia-based migrant advocacy organization Beranda Migran.
“In accordance with this policy, the Philippines is also expected to recognize this decision and enforce the sentence as determined in Indonesia,” the ministry added.
According to Olalia, if Indonesia decides to transfer custody and responsibility to the Philippines, there would be no legal way to impose the death penalty.
“Because you can’t impose a death penalty that is not existing in our books,” the lawyer told Rappler.
Potential scenarios
Olalia cited envisioned scenarios that do not intend to preempt the two governments’ decisions.
In the best-case scenario should Indonesia decide to transfer Veloso, immediately when she arrives in the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. could grant her absolute pardon, possibly even preventing her from stepping foot in a Philippine institution at all.
The worst-case scenario, meanwhile, is her death penalty may be commuted to life imprisonment.
Either way, Veloso has a chance at life if her transfer pushes through. And even if Philippine lawmakers decide to reinstate the death penalty, it cannot be applied retroactively, Olalia said.
A possible new opening
Migrant rights groups in the Philippines and abroad have long campaigned for Veloso’s freedom and for Indonesia to grant her clemency. While her case has long been decided in Indonesia, her case against her illegal recruiters is still ongoing in the Nueva Ecija Regional Trial Court.
Veloso was convicted of drug smuggling after carrying a suitcase containing heroin into Indonesia in 2010. Veloso has always maintained her innocence, saying she was duped by her traffickers into unknowingly acting as a drug mule. (READ: What you should know about the case of Mary Jane Veloso)
She was sentenced to death in October 2010, just six months after her arrest. In 2015, the late former president Benigno Aquino III directly appealed to Indonesia to turn Veloso into a state witness. Then-Indonesian president Joko Widodo put Veloso’s execution on hold to allow her to testify in a complaint filed against her recruiters in the Philippines.
Olalia said that before the development of Veloso’s possible transfer, their focus was on advancing her case against her illegal recruiters, since a guilty verdict could add leverage to her chance at clemency in Indonesia. This has stalled since Veloso has not yet been able to give her deposition from Indonesia.
“Things may now change given this. But I would like to tell you also, that whether or not she is transferred custody, whether or not she is granted clemency, the deposition will take place because it’s a legal case that has to be continued,” said Olalia.
The possibility of the Indonesian government granting Veloso clemency may still be on the table, since the transfer has not yet been decided.
“The DFA joins the Filipino nation in the hope and prayers for a successful resolution of this issue, one which shall do justice to Ms. Veloso and her family while strengthening the deep bonds of friendship between the Philippines and Indonesia,” the DFA said in its Tuesday statement.
Mary Jane’s parents: Send her straight to us
On Friday, November 15, OFW rights group Migrante International informed Veloso’s parents, Celia and Cesar Veloso, about the development from the Indonesian coordinating ministry.
According to Migrante International chairperson Joanna Concepcion, Celia and Cesar’s initial reaction to the possible transfer was fear. Since 2010, they have feared threats from their daughter’s illegal recruiters, who claim to be part of a larger syndicate, Concepcion said.
“Mas kampante sila kapag kulungan sa Indonesia kasi nakita nila ang pag-alaga ng prison guards kay Mary Jane. Pero sa Pilipinas, alam nila Nanay at Tatay ang kalagayan ng mga kulungan dito,” Concepcion told Rappler on Tuesday.
(They feel more at ease with the prison in Indonesia because they have seen how the prison guards there take care of her. But in the Philippines, Nanay and Tatay know about the prison conditions here.)
“After explaining further how this development is a positive option, naunawaan nila at sabi nila, ‘Dapat diretso sa bahay namin si Mary Jane, hindi sa kulungan dahil wala siyang kasalanan. Hindi siya dapat ikulong dito,'” she added.
(After explaining further how this development is a positive option, they understood and said, “Mary Jane should be brought directly to our house and not to prison because she didn’t do anything wrong. She should not be imprisoned here.”) – Rappler.com