Clemency for Mary Jane Veloso? Marcos says ‘everything is on the table’

Mary Jane Veloso —PHOTO COURTESY OF VELOSO FAMILY

BACOLOR, Pampanga, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said “everything is on the table” regarding drug convict Mary Jane Veloso’s fate once she returns to the Philippines.

In an ambush interview in Nueva Ecija on Thursday, Marcos was asked whether Veloso would be given clemency upon her return from Indonesia.

“We will see… this is the first time that this has happened. So, everything is on the table,” he responded.

Clemency is the act of granting mercy to a convicted individual, typically given by an executive authority.

READ: Mary Jane Veloso is coming home to the Philippines – Marcos

In a Palace briefing on Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said the Indonesian government is open to allowing Marcos to grant Veloso clemency.

He then explained two possible scenarios: “We will request—while she’s here—for the official release from detention from the Indonesian criminal procedure system or another one; they will allow our president to issue the clemency on the basis that she’s been in detention for many years.”

However, de Vega noted that details regarding Veloso’s potential clemency, the detention facility where she will continue to serve her sentence, and the length of her imprisonment remain under discussion.

In 2010, Veloso was arrested at Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta after she was found in possession of more than 2.6 kilograms of heroin.

Veloso maintained she was unaware of the contents of her luggage as it was only given by her recruiters, identified as Julius Lacanilao and Maria Cristina Sergio.

Good relationship with Indonesia

In the same ambush interview, Marcos attributed the progress in Veloso’s case to the Philippines’ positive rapport with former Indonesian President Joko Widodo and the nation’s current leader, President Prabowo Subianto.

He also emphasized that the Philippines has been working on Veloso’s case for many years now.

“Well, since I came into office, what we were trying to do—what we were working on—was tanggalin na siya sa death row, unang-una, to commute her sentence to life,” Marcos said.

(Well, since I came into office, what we were trying to do—what we were working on—was to remove her from death row, first and foremost, to commute her sentence to life imprisonment.)

“Noong nangyari ‘yun, when we are able to achieve that, we continue to work with them. It was still with the Widodo government at that time,” he added.

(When that happened, when we were able to achieve that, we continued to work with them. It was still under the Widodo government at that time.)

Marcos did not elaborate on his statement regarding the supposed commuting of Veloso’s case by the Indonesian government.

When reporters tried to ask for further information about this statement, Presidential Communications Office Cesar Chavez only explained that Veloso’s case will be “technically commuted” after her transfer to the Philippines, citing information from the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Reporters further sought clarification regarding this from the Palace but have not received any response yet.

INQUIRER.net also tried reaching out to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the DOJ on this matter but has yet to receive a response.

According to the Legal Information Institute, commuting a sentence means substituting a sentence imposed by the judiciary for a lesser sentence.

Philippines will honor the conditions of Indonesia

In a joint statement from the DFA and DOJ also issued on Thursday, it said that the Philippines is “bound to honor” the conditions set by Indonesia in allowing the transfer of Veloso back to the country.

“We are bound to honor the conditions that would be set for the transfer, particularly the service of sentence by Mary Jane in the Philippines, save the death penalty, which is prohibited under our laws,” the statement read.

“The conditions for the transfer of Ms. Mary Jane Veloso are still being discussed with Indonesia,” it added.