Mary Jane Veloso returns home after 14 years

Mary Jane Veloso waves to journalists at the Yogyakarta Class IIB Women’s Correctional Institution in Wonosari, Yogyakarta, on December 15, 2024, before her transfer to Jakarta after Indonesia and the Philippines signed an agreement last week to repatriate her.  Veloso, 39, was arrested and sentenced to death in 2010 after the suitcase she was carrying was found to be lined with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin, in a case that sparked uproar in the Philippines. (AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina on death row in Indonesia who spent almost 15 years in prison for drug trafficking, has returned home early Wednesday morning, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) announced. 

BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said the aircraft carrying Veloso landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in Pasay City at around 5:40 a.m.

“The flight, which departed from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta at 12:05 a.m., marked the end of a harrowing chapter in Veloso’s life,” BuCor said in a statement.

During the flight, Catapang noted Veloso “was not in a handcuff or subjected to any instrument of restraint” citing the rules of general application of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners as adopted by the First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders.

Catapang added that Veloso had “no intention of escaping or harming herself as she was eager to return to the Philippines.” 

“From the airport, Veloso was transported to the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW)  in Mandaluyong City where she will be mandatorily housed at the Reception and Diagnostic Center for 5-day quarantine and a 55-day orientation , diagnostic evaluation, and initial security classification,” the BuCor said. 

The agency also assured Veloso’s family that they will be able to visit her in time for Christmas “after her standard five-day quarantine period for new person deprived of liberty wherein she will undergo a comprehensive medical and physical examination.”

Veloso’s family from Nueva Ecija, along with lawyers and supporters from the Save Mary Jane Task Force, however, failed to personally meet her at the airport after she was immediately escorted to a vehicle that transported her to the CIW.

Veloso’s return follows an agreement between Jakarta and Manila, which was announced by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) last November 19.

Veloso was sentenced to death after she was caught carrying  2.6 kilograms of heroin inside her suitcase at Yogyakarta airport in Indonesia in 2010.

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