Photo of Mary Jane Veloso (right) taken on November 20, 2024. PHOTO COURTESY OF JARINGAN TOLAK HUKUMAN MATI (ANTI CAPITAL PUNISHMENT NETWORK)
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government should ensure the safety of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina domestic helper spared from execution in Indonesia on charges of drug trafficking, when she returns to the country, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said on Thursday.
Hontiveros, head of the chamber’s panel on women, addressed questions surrounding Veloso’s safety amid fears that her life would be in danger because the syndicate that preyed on her might come back.
“The authorities should give particular attention to the protection of Mary Jane’s life. If we saved her from the death penalty in another country, her life and safety should also be protected here in our own country,” Hontiveros said in Filipino.
Because Veloso is a victim of human trafficking, Hontiveros said, it is also an additional reason for the government to dismantle and punish human trafficking syndicates.
“Those drug syndicates were not targeted and were not dismantled in the previous bloody war on drugs. Instead, citizens like Mary Jane Veloso were caught in the trap of those drug syndicates, reaching this bitter and prolonged suffering,” she added.
In 2010, Veloso was apprehended 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, Julius Lacanilao and Maria Cristina Sergio.
READ: Timeline: The case of Mary Jane Veloso
After years of negotiations between Manila and Jakarta, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday announced that Velos would return home.
READ: Veloso PH-bound; freedom still up to Marcos, Jakarta