CONCERNED about threats from the worldwide drug cartel that implicated Mary Jane Veloso, the parents of a Filipino death row convict in Indonesia pleaded with the Philippine authorities to move her to a secure local facility.
Celia Veloso stated that she would not mind if Mary Jane was not taken home right away and instead had to serve time in a Philippine prison after Indonesia finally confirmed preparations to send her daughter back to the Philippines.
“I’m okay with that. I’d still want that because it means that my daughter can go home. However, once she is brought here, I hope she’ll be taken to a safe place. I hope she’ll be put in a facility where she’ll be really safe, one we’ll have nothing to fear about.” Mary Jane’s mother stated in an interview with one media program.
Cesar, the father of Mary Jane, also voiced concern about his daughter being moved to a facility in Mandaluyong, citing threats from her recruiter who was affiliated with a global drug gang that had exploited her as an unintentional drug courier in Indonesia.
“We are happy but we are also afraid that she will be imprisoned in Manila. They should detain my daughter in a safe place because her recruiter threatened us saying that they belong to an international syndicate, so we are afraid,” Cesar explained.
“When my daughter was imprisoned, we went to the recruiter and she told us not to say anything because they came from an international syndicate. They said they can bring my daughter out by paying P5 million, as long as we don’t go to authorities,” he added.
Mary Jane has been on Indonesia’s execution row for more than ten years after being found guilty of drug trafficking in 2010.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos has the authority to pardon Veloso because the Philippines does not have a death sentence. Veloso’s sentence might also be commuted to life in prison.
Following an arrangement that would let her return to the Philippines, Veloso’s camp has also urged Marcos to grant her pardon.