WHAT WENT BEFORE: Duterte on Veloso case

ON HIS RETURN on Saturday from a 24-hour visit in Jakarta, President Duterte said he discussed with President Joko Widodo the case of Mary Jane Veloso, who was convicted by an Indonesian court of smuggling drugs and sentenced to death.

“There are the things which I cannot divulge now because it will not be in keeping with good manners and right conduct. Let me talk to the family first because if I say something now, I’ll be telegraphing my message. Whether it is good or bad, you have to consider the feelings of the family first,” the President told reporters.

Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said the two governments felt no urgency on taking action on the case.

“Her scheduled execution had been deferred because she would be testifying in the deposition case against her illegal recruiter. After prosecuting the illegal recruiter who (is one of) the main principals here, and if it turns out in the trial in the Philippines that Mary Jane (was) a victim, then at that point we can ask for clemency soon,” Yasay added.

Veloso was granted a last-minute reprieve from execution in April last year after the surrender of her recruiters, Kristina Sergio and her partner Julius Lacanilao, in the Philippines.

Veloso was arrested in April 2010 at Yogyakarta airport in Indonesia after 2.6 kilograms of heroin was discovered in her luggage. She was sentenced to die in October 2010.

Indonesian authorities have said Veloso’s execution had been postponed in view of its commitment to respect the Philippines’ legal processes. She is expected to testify at the human trafficking case against her recruiters.

The President earlier said he would ask Widodo for mercy for Veloso. “If my pleadings will fall on deaf ears, I am ready to accept it—for the simple reason I do not doubt the judicial system of Indonesia,” he said.

If Widodo denied his plea, Mr. Duterte said he would be still be grateful that Veloso had been treated well.

“For after all, we have our laws to follow and had it been any other … or the other way around, I might also be at the receiving end of so many pleas for mercy—and I would never know what or how to react,” he said. Compiled by Ana Roa, Inquirer Research

Source: Inquirer Archives, RTVM