Binay reiterates appeal for prayers for Veloso

By: Maila Ager - 10 years ago

Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Vice President Jejomar Binay reiterated on Friday his appeal for prayers for Filipina Mary Jane Veloso after learning that she was transferred to Nusakambangan, an island prison for high profile prisoners.

READ: Binay to make final appeal to spare Veloso’s life

“I urge everyone to include Mary Jane and her family in their prayers. Let us pray that the Indonesian government will heed our appeal for the commutation of Mary Jane’s sentence,” Binay said in a statement.

In his letter to Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla at the sidelines of their bilateral meeting in Jakarta Wednesday afternoon, Binay sought the compassion of his counterpart to spare the life of Veloso and commute her death sentence.

“I most respectfully appeal for your humanitarian consideration on the case of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipino national sentenced to death in Yogyakarta in 2010. She comes from a humble background and attained only a basic education. She is also a single mother of two sons,” he said.

“She became the target of a neighbour by the name of Maria Cristina Sergio, who offered her work as a household worker in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mary Jane happily accepted, as her only intention was to work overseas in order to earn enough to provide a better future for her two children, who depend solely upon her for support,” Binay added.

He said that Veloso had been an “unwitting victim of drug trafficking” and did not know that she was carrying heroin in her bag when she was travelling to Indonesia.

“All of our investigations indicate that she was indeed fooled into carrying the drugs into Indonesia. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, after having investigated and interviewed Mary Jane, categorically stated their opinion of her innocence in drug trafficking. If indeed Mary Jane had been working as a drug mule, surely her family would have felt the benefits of the illicit trade, and would not be in such dire financial straits up to the present,” Binay said.

“I appeal to you on considerations of compassion, and assure you that the Philippine government is exhausting all avenues to ensure that proper justice is served to those responsible for deceiving Mary Jane into having brought the drugs into Indonesia. The National Bureau of Investigation has filed cases of human trafficking against Ms. Sergio and other accomplices,” he added.

The Vice President also assured Kalla that the Philippine government fully respects the stand of the Indonesian government to the rule of law.

“I merely ask that the penalty of death not be implemented on a woman, a single mother, and clearly an unwitting and unwilling victim of merciless drug trafficking syndicates,” said Binay.