‘All hope is gone for Veloso’ – DFA

ADMITTING that the execution of Mary Jane Veloso is “imminent,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday said that the Philippines has reached a “dead end” in its scramble to save Veloso’s life.

“It seems [that all hope is gone for Mary Jane Veloso]. Both approaches, the legal and diplomatic, [seem] like [to have been closed]. In the legal aspect, our second appeal has been rejected and in the diplomatic [field], there’s a word already with the Attorney General. We are deeply saddened with this development,” Foreign Affairs spokesperson Charles Jose said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

Jose said that the Philippine government did everything it could to obtain pardon for the Filipino domestic helper.

“She was given due process and her rights were upheld. She was given every chance to defend herself. On the part of the PH government, we also did everything that we possibly could [on Mary Jane Veloso’s case],” he added.

The DFA reiterated that they were with Veloso “every step of the way”: from her court trials, to her appeals in the Indonesian Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, DFA maintained that Veloso’s case would not strain bilateral relations between the Philippines and Indonesia.

“Indonesia and the Philippines are bilaterally close. Both being members of Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations.) We have many areas of cooperation with Indonesia. We do not expect Philippines-Indonesia bilateral relations to be affected by this particular case,” he said.

The government’s last-ditch effort to save Veloso failed as the Sleman District Court junked the second appeal for Veloso’s case on Monday, citing an Indonesian Supreme Court rule that a case can only be appealed once.

The 30-year-old mother of two is set to be executed on Tuesday. AC

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