Boxing champion and Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao is set to visit Mary Jane Veloso in Indonesia on Friday, an INQUIRER.net source said Wednesday.
The source said that Pacquiao’s request to visit Veloso, who is currently detained at the Yogyakarta prison after being convicted of drug trafficking, is still being processed by the Attorney General’s Office of Indonesia.
Pacquiao will be accompanied by embassy officials when he visits Veloso, the source added.
On his Instagram, Pacquiao posted a photo of him with wife Jinkee on Tuesday. It was captioned “On our way to Indonesia.”
The source said Indonesians have been expecting Pacquiao after news came out that he was staying in the country for three days to shoot a commercial for an Indonesian traditional medicine brand.
In an interview on June 24, Pacquiao told INQUIRER.net he would visit Veloso between July 8 and 10 and he would try to arrange a meeting with Indonesian President Jokowi Widodo.
Veloso was given a reprieve after information came about that her alleged recruiter Maria Kristina Sergio was detained on illegal recruitment charges in Nueva Ecija. Veloso’s family pointed at Sergio as Veloso’s alleged recruiter who duped her into carrying the briefcase that contained the heroin in Indonesia.
READ: Pacquiao asks Indonesia to spare Veloso’s life | Arum says Pacquiao helped save Veloso from execution
Pacquiao has lost a bid to become chair of the House of Representatives overseas workers affairs committee. He said it would have been ideal for him to lead the committee because he has several overseas trips as a world-renowned boxer.
READ: Pacquiao loses House panel chair bid, will head Olympics committee instead
He also said world leaders would listen to OFW concerns if he as a famous boxer would represent the country.