Duterte to visit Indonesia after summit, hopes to help drug mule

In this March 2015 photo, convicted Filipino drug smuggler on death row Mary Jane Veloso is escorted by Indonesian police as she arrives at the court in Sleman, central Java island. AFP

President Rodrigo Duterte is hopeful that he can do something for convicted Filipino drug courier Mary Jane Veloso.

“I pray I can do something for her,” Duterte told the 129 Filipino workers repatriated from Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

The President is set to visit Indonesia on Sept. 8 to 9 after attending the Asean Summit in Vientiane, Laos.

Indonesia is part of Duterte’s Asean trip, which also includes Brunei.

Veloso was arrested at the Yogyakarta airport in Indonesia in 2010 for carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin.

She was supposed to be executed on April 25, 2015 but was temporarily spared after the woman who allegedly recruited her to act as drug courier surrendered to authorities.