Veloso’s sister flies to Jakarta

A sister of Mary Jane Veloso and a high-ranking official of a migrant workers’ organization left for Indonesia on Friday in a last-ditch attempt to save the overseas Filipino worker convicted of drug charges and who is now on death row.

Maritess Veloso Laurente and Migrante secretary-general Connie Bragas Regalado arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 before 6 p.m., and were sent off by at least 10 members of Migrante who had arrived a few minutes earlier.

Laurente and Regalado were also greeted by Veloso’s children, Mark Darren, 6, and Mark Daniel, 12, who also went to the airport.

Regalado and Laurente were scheduled to fly to Jakarta via Cebu Pacific flight 5J759 at 8:55 p.m. on Friday.

From Jakarta, they will take a three-hour flight to Yogyakarta “early Sunday.”

She said they would meet with Philippine Ambassador Maria Lumen Esleta upon their arrival.

“This is so we can coordinate with (her) about the case and we can ask from her an endorsement to the High Court so we can visit (Veloso),” Regalado told reporters.

She said the parents of Veloso and seven lawyers from the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) would also fly to Indonesia next week.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines has also agreed to “take up the case,” Regalado said.

“We have talked to the Commission on Women in Indonesia, particularly their migrants desk,” she said.

Apart from Esleta, Regalado said they would meet with Veloso’s Indonesian lawyers on Sunday “to talk about the next steps.”

“What we want is for the case against Maria Kristina Sergio to be filed. She was the one who recruited (Veloso),” Regalado said.

She said lawyers from NUPL had already requested the Department of Justice to investigate the case.