DFA logo and building facade. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — Mary Jane Veloso will finally return home on Wednesday, December 18, said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Quoting DFA Undersecretary Theresa Lazaro, Press Secretary Cesar Chavez told INQUIRER.net on Monday that Veloso is set to return to the country at 6 a.m. (Manila time).
Her estimated time of departure from Indonesia, on the other hand, will be at 12:50 a.m.
In a statement the same day, Malacañang also confirmed the “imminent return” of Mary Jane Veloso to the country, 14 years after being sentenced to death in Indonesia.
“With much appreciation and gratefulness to the Republic of Indonesia, we confirm the imminent return of our kababayan, Mary Jane Veloso,” said Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin in a statement.
“Her homecoming is the fruit of more than a decade of persistent discussions, consultations and diplomacy,” he added.
Bersamin then reiterated the Philippines’ commitment to “honor” Indonesia’s conditions in allowing the return of Veloso.
READ: PH to honor Indonesia’s conditions in Mary Jane Veloso’s return
Veloso was arrested back in 2010, at Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta after she was found in possession of more than 2.6 kilograms of heroin.
She was then sentenced to death, but was spared in 2015 after Philippine officials asked then-Indonesian President Joko Widodo to allow her to testify against members of a human and drug-smuggling syndicate in Manila.