Indonesia commits to ‘reexamine’ Veloso’s case – Palace

ASEAN SUMMIT. Indonesia President Joko Widodo welcomes Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during the 42nd ASEAN Summit Plenary Session at the Meruorah Komodo Convention Center in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia on Wednesday (May 10, 2023). Marcos said he has asked Widodo to reexamine the case of jailed overseas Filipino worker Mary Jane Veloso, who has been on Indonesia’s death row over drug-related charges. (Photo: OP/Facebook)

MANILA – Indonesian President Joko Widodo has assured President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. that the Indonesian government will “reexamine” the case of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina on death row over drug charges, Malacañang said on Thursday.

In a text message, Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said Widodo made the commitment during his meeting with Marcos at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Wednesday.

“Yes, with the decision of the Indonesian government to look into the case filed by Mary Jane Veloso in the Philippines,” she said when asked if Marcos received an assurance from Widodo that Indonesia would reexamine Veloso’s case.

Widodo is currently in the Philippines for a three-day official visit.

To recall, Marcos asked Widodo on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Indonesia in May this year to reexamine the case of Veloso “as a favor to the Philippines.”

Marcos is hoping clemency will be given to Veloso “at the appropriate time,” as he relays the progress on the case filed against her recruiters in the Philippines, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said in a statement on Wednesday.

During his bilateral meeting with Widodo on Wednesday, Marcos reported that the legal interrogatories required from the Philippine Regional Trial Court on Veloso’s case have already been sent to Jakarta for her to answer.

Veloso was arrested in 2010 after Indonesian authorities found 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her suitcase.

She was given a last-minute reprieve in April 2015 when the Philippine government informed Indonesia that her recruiters had surrendered.