Filipino drug convict on death row in Indonesia, Mary Jane Veloso, poses for a photograph at Yogyakarta Women’s Correctional Institution Class IIB in Wonosari, Yogyakarta on December 13, 2024. Veloso told AFP from prison on December 13 that her planned transfer was a “miracle” in her first interview since Manila and Jakarta signed an agreement last week to repatriate her. (Photo by DEVI RAHMAN / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — What will happen to Mary Jane Veloso once she arrives in Manila?
Veloso has been in detention since 2010 after Indonesian authorities arrested her at the Yogyakarta airport for bringing in more than two kilograms of heroin.
Then-President Joko Widodo of Indonesia stopped Veloso’s execution on April 29, 2015 after then-President Benigno Aquino III appealed her case and explained that her testimony was vital in the case she had filed against her recruiters.
This year, Jakarta agreed to transfer Veloso to her home country after her death sentence was commuted. She is expected to serve her unspecified remaining prison term in the Philippines.
READ: Indonesia exec: Veloso homecoming on December
Veloso is expected to arrive on Wednesday morning with government officials already in Jakarta for a turnover.
Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Gregorio Catapang together with CT/CSupt Ma Cecilia Villanueva, acting deputy director for reformation and director for health and welfare services; C/Supt. Roger Boncales, acting Supt. of the New Bilibid Prison; and CT/Supt. Marjorie Ann Sanidad, acting Supt. of the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) are already in Indonesia along with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs, National Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Immigration.
Upon her arrival, Veloso will undergo the protocol five-day quarantine at the CIW for newly committed person deprived of liberty.
Following BuCor’s Manual on Admission and Confinement of PDL, Veloso will be housed at the Reception and Diagnostic Center for not more than 60 days where she will undergo a five-day quarantine.
During the quarantine period, she will be in a Quarantine Cell for medical observation to determine her physical and mental condition.
After the quarantine period, which falls on Dec. 24, Veloso’s family will be allowed to visit and celebrate with her.
“This will be a rare moment of connection during the transitional period,” Catapang said.
The quarantine will be followed by the 55-day orientation, diagnostic evaluation, and initial security classification.
Catapang earlier said that Veloso would be detained at the minimum compound at CIW with around 20 other inmates.
He added that they can make her choose where to be detained — at CIW in Palawan, or in Davao.
When asked why Veloso could choose her preferred detention facility, Catapang said, “for a simple reason that Veloso is not sentenced by the RTC (Regional Trial Court).”
“We are just simply applying the sentence of the Indonesian government,” he added.