The parents of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipino migrant worker imprisoned for 16 years, staged a protest outside the Philippine Department of Justice on Monday, urgently appealing to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for executive clemency. Despite being repatriated from Indonesia fourteen months ago, Veloso remains incarcerated in Manila awaiting formal release orders.
Celia Veloso, the detainee’s mother, publicly emphasized the President’s constitutional authority to grant pardon, specifically requesting that Marcos personally visit her daughter to hear her plea firsthand. Veloso was originally convicted by an Indonesian court in 2010 for narcotics smuggling but consistently maintained she was an unwitting drug mule manipulated by human traffickers.
Her case underwent a significant development when Indonesian President Probowo Subianto authorized her transfer to the Philippines in late 2024, where her death sentence was automatically commuted to life imprisonment due to the absence of capital punishment in Philippine law.
Legal representatives, including Edwin dela Cruz of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, argue that Veloso’s continued detention lacks legal basis as she faces no pending charges in Philippine courts. This position is strengthened by the successful prosecution of her recruiters on human trafficking charges in Philippine courts, which substantiates her claim of being victimized by criminal syndicates.
Human rights organization Migrante International has joined the family’s campaign, highlighting the judicial recognition of Veloso’s status as a trafficking victim rather than a criminal offender. The case continues to draw attention to the vulnerabilities of overseas workers and the complex interplay between international drug enforcement and human trafficking protections.