People saved Veloso, activist groups say

MANILA, Philippines–Hundreds of people camping outside the Indonesian Embassy in Makati City overnight, broke into loud cheers and hugged each other upon learning about the stay of execution of Mary Jane Veloso early Wednesday.

Veloso’s execution was “temporarily suspended” pending all legal procedures against her alleged recruiter Maria Christina Sergio, who turned herself in to Philippine police Tuesday.

“We are grateful for the solidarity and support of the Indonesian people and the rest of the world,” militant women’s group Gabriela said in a statement.

Gabriela, however, slammed the last five-minute action of the Aquino government and its “five years of inaction that led to the situation.”

The group said it was not President Aquino or Indonesian President Joko Widodo who saved Veloso.

“The people saved Mary Jane, not Jokowi and certainly not Aquino,” the group said.

Karapatan, on the other hand, said the temporary victory is due to the collective efforts of the Filipino people and the international community.

“President Aquino has no moral authority to claim this victory as his doing, because is his goverment’s fault Mary Jane’s life was endangered in the first place,” Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay said.

Photo by Anthony Esguerra