Filipina death-row prisoner in Indonesia arrives home in Philippines

MANILA: Mary Jane Veloso, who received a last-minute reprieve from execution by firing squad for drug trafficking in Indonesia in 2015, arrived in Manila in the early hours of Wednesday (Dec 18) after years of negotiations between the two Southeast Asian countries.

Veloso, a 39-year-old former domestic helper and mother of two, told reporters in Jakarta she was ready to start a new life in the Philippines.

Veloso was arrested in Yogyakarta in 2010 after being found with 2.6kg of heroin concealed in a suitcase. She said she was an unwitting drug mule, but she was convicted and sentenced to death.

Her release came days after the five remaining members of the “Bali Nine” drug ring were repatriated to Australia from Indonesia.

Veloso was flanked by heavy security upon her arrival at Manila’s airport and was transported straight to a prison facility for women. Her family and dozens of supporters who were waiting outside the terminal failed to greet Veloso on her arrival.

“They made my daughter a criminal even if she is innocent. They did not allow us to see her. We wanted to hug her,” her father Cesar Veloso told reporters at the airport as he broke down in tears.

Her mother Celia Veloso was more upbeat, saying: “What’s important is she’s here already”.

Edre Olalia, Veloso’s lawyer in the Philippines, said authorities had given her family private time with her at the prison facility.

The two governments agreed this month to transfer Veloso back to Manila in a deal that includes the Philippines respecting the court’s sentencing of Veloso and her status as prisoner.