Bongbong Marcos to Indonesia’s Widodo: Reexamine case of Mary Jane Veloso

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday said he has asked Indonesian President Joko Widodo to “reexamine” the case of convicted drug mule Mary Jane Veloso, who is now in Indonesia’s death row.

Marcos said he was able to mention Veloso’s case in his talk with Widodo on the sidelines of the 42nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit, where he told the Indonesian president that the Philippine government is still trying to work hard on Veloso’s case.

However, Marcos said Widodo stood firm that the Indonesian government was just abiding by their rules.

With this, Marcos said he told Widodo that Indonesian authorities can reexamine the case “as a favor to the Philippines.”

“At some point, habang naglalakad kami, I was able to say ‘you know we’re still trying to work hard on that case’ and ganun din ‘yung sagot niya na ‘yung batas talaga sa amin ay ganito,’” Marcos said in an interview with reporters.

(At some point, when we were walking, I was able to tell him that we’re still trying to work hard on that case but he told me that they are just abiding by their laws.)

“So sabi ko the best that we can do I suppose is for the Indonesian authorities to reexamine the case para naman as a favor to the Philippines,” he added.

(So I said the best that we can do, I suppose, is for the Indonesian authorities to reexamine the case as a favor to the Philippines.)

Marcos said they were not able to delve into the issue further, since Widodo is “very busy” being the host and chairman of the 42nd Asean Summit.

Veloso was convicted of drug trafficking after she was caught with 2.6 kilos of heroin in Yogyakarta in 2010.

She was meted out to the death penalty in 2010.

In September last year, the Department of Foreign Affairs sought executive clemency for Veloso.

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