INQToday: Clemency for Mary Jane Veloso? Marcos says ‘everything is on the table’

Here’s a quick roundup of today’s top stories:

Clemency for Mary Jane Veloso? Marcos says ‘everything is on the table’

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said “everything is on the table” regarding drug convict Mary Jane Veloso’s fate once she returns to the Philippines.

In an ambush interview in Nueva Ecija on Thursday, Marcos was asked whether Veloso would be given clemency upon her return from Indonesia.

Mary Jane Veloso death sentence commuted to life in jail – Marcos

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. revealed Thursday that the death sentence of drug convict Mary Jane Veloso has been commuted to life imprisonment during the term of Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

During an ambush interview in Nueva Ecija, Marcos disclosed that the effort to have Veloso returned to the Philippines was lengthy.

VP Sara no comment on ‘Piattos’ mess: I haven’t seen the receipt

Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday refused to comment on the existence of “Mary Grace Piattos,” an alleged recipient of part of the confidential funds her office spent in just 11 days in December 2022, as she has not seen the acknowledgment receipts the House was basing it from.

Duterte made the pronouncement in connection to the P1 million cash reward placed for anyone who could present “Mary Grace Piattos.”

House panel cites OVP exec Lopez for contempt

The House of Representatives’ committee on good government and public accountability has moved to cite Office of the Vice President (OVP) Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez for contempt, as lawmakers found her committing undue interference in the panel’s hearings.

During the committee’s hearing on Wednesday, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro moved to cite Lopez for contempt, due to the OVP official’s letter to the Commission on Audit (COA) asking that the agency refrain from giving the House the audit observations on OVP’s confidential funds (CF) expenses.