Hours before the sun rose, the Veloso family quietly prepared to go to the airport to see their Mary Jane come home.

Mary Jane Veloso’s parents and sons were staying in the office of migrant rights organization Migrante International in Quezon City. Even after a global campaign to spare her from execution in Indonesia quieted down, following Jakarta’s decision to grant her a reprieve, Migrante was among the groups that stayed by the family’s side.

The family lives in Nueva Ecija that’s why they decided to come to Manila and stay closer to the airport. They even had plans to visit her in the Yogyakarta prison before Mary Jane’s transfer was agreed upon between the Philippines and Indonesia. They family chose to stay when their trip was canceled, eagerly anticipating Mary Jane’s homecoming.

At age 25, Mary Jane sought a job abroad as a domestic worker. It was a neighbor she trusted, Cristina Sergio, who had offered her a job. It was also Cristina’s partner, Julius Lacanilao, who handed her a suitcase that would cause her immeasurable trouble and anguish. Unknown to her, she was going to be used as an unwitting drug mule who would transport a secret stash of heroin, a crime punishable with death in Indonesia. On death row for 14 years since her sentencing in 2010, Mary Jane’s life was left hanging in the balance.

On Wednesday, December 18, Mary Jane — now 39 — was reunited with her loved ones in the country they called home. Her youngest, Darren, only two when she left, now stood a head above her.

Mary Jane’s siblings – Leah, Christopher, Maritess, and Darling – all eagerly awaited her arrival. They had all come from Nueva Ecija the night before, and were present when their parents, Cesar and Celia, got to speak to Mary Jane via video call, before she boarded a plane headed home.

Mary Jane’s parents, and her sons Darren and Daniel Candelaria barely slept a wink the evening before. The last time they had seen her was in December 2023, during a visit to Yogyakarta. 

Excitement, dismay, relief

Just before 4 am, the family and their supporters left the Migrante office in a convoy headed to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. In their excitement, Cesar realized he had left his cellphone on its charger, but Celia left something more important.

“Nakalimutan ko ‘yong adobo (I forgot the adobo)!” Celia said as we approached Terminal 3, referring to Mary Jane’s favorite food.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) had already decided that no family reunion would take place in the airport, but at her detention facility instead. Still, the family went to the airport hopeful that authorities would change their minds.

With no assurance of seeing her, supporters held up a banner reading, “Welcome home, Mary Jane!” For about two hours, they waited with pink and purple carnations in hand.

When her parents began to grow tired of the long wait, they sat down on an abandoned trolley. This was fine, they said, as long as they get to see Mary Jane. Never mind the wait.

Just before 6 am, a bright red “ARRIVED” flashed on the terminals’ screens next to Cebu Pacific flight 5J 760. This meant only two things: Mary Jane was home and her life was spared.

Within the next hour, airport security that had gradually tightened became even more stringent as a crowd of corrections officers appeared from a room in the VIP section of the terminal. Security personnel with linked arms shielded Mary Jane from everyone, especially the line of waiting cameras. She was quickly whisked to a vehicle that would bring her to her prison facility.

Cesar began to wail as he failed to see and hug his daughter close. Cameras swarmed around the already overwhelmed father who had a heart condition, prompting supporters to control over-eager media. 

After a quick sit-down break and a drink of water, the family was off to the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW), eager to catch up with Mary Jane.

Daniel and Darren got to the prison before their grandparents did. Here, security was much more lenient, easily allowing them inside to see their mother. The two young men turned into Mary Jane’s small boys again as they ran to embrace her with a bouquet of flowers.

They sat down together waiting for their grandparents, aunts, and uncle who followed soon. Darren had his head on his older brother’s shoulder while holding his mother’s hand across Daniel’s lap. 

Mary Jane was beaming with her boys, occasionally forming hearts with her hands and waving to cameras that were strictly kept behind the prison gate. 

Celia, Cesar, and Mary Jane’s siblings eventually arrived. Mary Jane and her sons stood up and met them halfway. At long last, Mary Jane was engulfed in the love she had long missed.

Fight for clemency

Questions still remain, however, on two cases that involve Mary Jane: the death sentence in Indonesia that was commuted to life upon her arrival in the Philippines, and another where she serves as complainant against her recruiters in Nueva Ecija.

Mary Jane’s return means she is now under the jurisdiction of local authorities and can be subjected to all the rights and privileges of a person deprived of liberty (PDL) in the Philippines.

“It’s so clear in the agreement that the moment Mary Jane Veloso is transferred here on custody, she would be subjected to all laws, regulations, and processes of the Philippine government that are accorded to any and ordinary person deprived of liberty,” Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez explained.

Her death sentence was technically commuted to life imprisonment, according to Vasquez. This means she will have to serve the remainder of her life imprisonment penalty under the country’s corrections system.

In her first time to speak to the media since her arrival at the CIW, Mary Jane pleaded with the President to grant her clemency. “Pakiusap ko sa Pangulo, sana mabigyan na niya ako ng clemency (I wish to ask the President for clemency),” Mary Jane said on December 18. 

A day after her return, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he was aware of the requests for clemency for the embattled former overseas Filipino worker (OFW), adding that the government’s legal experts would be the one to determine “whether the vision of clemency is appropriate.”

Clemency refers to the power of the president to either pardon or reduce the sentence of a person convicted of a crime.

According to the DOJ, clemency may come in different ways such as commutation of sentence (reduction of sentence), conditional, and absolute pardons. A conditional pardon “is the conditional exemption of a guilty offender for the punishment imposed by a court, while absolute pardon removes the criminal liability of a person and can fully restore an individual’s civil rights.”

Vasquez explained that Marcos has the discretion to decide when, how, and if he will grant Mary Jane clemency, but clarified that talk of clemency is definitely “on the table.” The DOJ official added that Marcos can use his clemency powers “absolutely.” (READ: In unique deal, Indonesia gives Marcos discretion to pardon Mary Jane Veloso)

Aside from clemency, PDLs in the Philippines can also avail of other remedies, such as Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) and Special Time Allowance For Loyalty, to reduce their sentence and free themselves from detention on the basis of their good behavior.

The Supreme Court overturned a Duterte-time policy that excluded convicts of heinous crimes from the GCTA, allowing the new administration to revise and pass the law’s new implementing rules just this December.

Thousands of heinous crimes convicts might be released based on the new GCTA rule, according to Bureau of Corrections chief Gregorio Catapang Jr., but he immediately clarified that Mary Jane is not one of them yet. Catapang, however, added that they will form a board to study Mary Jane’s case in relation to the GCTA.

Mary Jane’s lawyer believes that of the available options for her, absolute pardon is what’s best. National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers chairperson Edre Olalia told Rappler: “We have said that time and time again that on humanitarian grounds, this is not a legal ground. On humanitarian grounds, and I can tell you why there’s an abundant list of why she should be granted absolute pardon on humanitarian grounds. It’s absolute pardon, nothing less.”

Fruit of good ties

Foreign prisoners may be transferred back to their countries to continue their sentence, pursuant to the treaty of transfer of sentence prisons between two countries.

The Philippines signed the said treaty with a few countries like the United Kingdom and Spain. In fact, the treaty was used to transfer half-Spanish Paco Larrañaga, who was convicted in 2004 of raping and murdering the Chiong sisters, to Spain in 2009.

The Philippines and Indonesia don’t have the same treaty, so instead, Mary Jane was transferred on the basis of good relations between the two Southeast Asian countries, particularly due to “international committee and mutual courtesy.”

Vasquez said Indonesia did not request anything in return. “No condition,” he added. Indonesia’s only demand was reciprocity, according to the justice official.

“Reciprocity is anchored on the principle of mutual sovereignty of ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] and UN member-states, and at the same time, the co-equal independence of nations. So we really need to respect each other’s mandate and independence. And if the time comes that they will have the same request, this grant of our request, [their] request would also be considered with great weight,” the DOJ undersecretary explained.

Nine years ago, it was late president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III who saved Mary Jane from the death row at the last minute. With only hours left before the implementation of her death sentence, Aquino broke diplomatic protocol to speak directly with then-Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi, delaying her execution.

Duterte, who succeeded Aquino, took a different stance on Mary Jane’s case. He even said that he would not intervene if Indonesia went ahead with her execution. 

Her return signals how the Marcos administration views the former OFW’s case. All eyes are on Marcos now as the campaign for clemency continues. Will he exercise his powers as president? – Rappler.com