Veloso bids final farewell

Veloso, held along with nine other death convicts from Australia, Brazil, France, Nigeria and Indonesia on Nusakambangan, was given notice of her execution by the attorney general’s office last Saturday. It set her execution by firing squad Tuesday.

Veloso was convicted of trafficking heroin into Indonesia in October 2010, but she has said her only crime was to fall victim to international drug gangs which are now threatening to kill her family if they speak out.

Her case has drawn huge attention in both Indonesia and the Philippines, with supporters calling for clemency at regular rallies in Jakarta and Manila.

Pacquiao’s appeal

Even world boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao pleaded on Monday for her life to be spared, taking time out from preparations for his fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“I am begging and knocking at your kind heart that your excellency grant executive clemency to her by sparing her life and saving her from execution,” Pacquiao, who is also a congressman, said in a video call to a local television network from his Los Angeles training camp.

“On May 2nd, I will be fighting in Las Vegas, Nevada, against Floyd Mayweather, which is considered the fight of the century. It will be a great morale booster, if in my own little way, I can save a life,” a solemn-looking Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao’s statement came just hours after Veloso’s 55-year-old mother, Celia, made a desperate and tearful appeal for the boxing champion to help her daughter.

“Manny, please help save my daughter. Please speak up. Any word from you will help greatly because you are very popular in Indonesia,” Celia Veloso said in a radio interview.

Last visit

As Veloso’s family wept and prepared to cross to Nusakambangan on Monday for what could be the last time, supporters in both Manila and Jakarta turned out waving “Save Mary Jane” banners and urging them to keep their spirits up.

In front of the Indonesian Embassy in Makati City, protesters from the militant group Kilusang Mayo Uno called on the nation to step up efforts to save Veloso.

“We encourage everyone to wear white and to light candles in their homes or offices,” said KMU campaign manager Jerome Adonis.

He urged Filipinos to unite and speak up on social media sites and appeal to the Indonesian government to spare Veloso’s life.

Malacañang also appealed to the nation to pray that Widodo would have a “change of heart” and stay the execution of Veloso.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda urged Filipinos to pray that Widodo would “look with mercy” on Veloso and “commute the decision.”

At the DFA, Jose said another sister of Veloso, Darlene, left for Indonesia on Monday with government help to join the rest of the family on Nusakambangan.

The family has been visiting Veloso since Saturday.

But the show of support from the Indonesian and Filipino public could do little for Celia Veloso. Her calls for Widodo to spare her youngest child were growing increasingly desperate.

“She says, ‘My daughter is innocent . . . it’s not easy to lose someone like her,’” Fr. Harold Toleadano, a Filipino priest based in Indonesia and assisting the family, said in an interview with AFP.

11th-hour miracle

The mother is hoping for an 11th-hour miracle, and Veloso’s sister Marites is appealing directly to Widodo to spare her sister.

“I would like to convey to you it’s only God who has the right to take away the life of anyone,” she said in a message to Widodo.

Marites is particularly fearful for Veloso’s young sons, who played happily with toy cars at their hotel, oblivious to the family’s mounting desperation and officials swirling around them.

But she knows Mark Daniel will always keep a watchful eye over his younger brother, recounting a pledge he had made to his mother in recent days.

“He promised his mother that he would take care of his younger brother and they will study hard,” she said.–With reports from Jerry E. Esplanada, Maricar B. Brizuela, wires and The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network

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