TEARS OF JOY BEFORE CHANGE OF JAIL Convicted overseas Filipino worker Mary Jane Veloso meets her family and relatives at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, where she was taken shortly after arrival in the Philippines on Wednesday morning. She was granted a prison transfer from Indonesia where she has been in jail for drug trafficking for the past 14 years. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA/bureau of corrections
MANILA, Philippines — The road to Mary Jane Veloso’s absolute freedom remains “quiet” and “uncertain” but hopes are still high that she will be granted clemency.
Veloso, a Filipina inmate on death row in Indonesia who spent almost 15 years in prison for drug trafficking, is finally back in her home country—the Philippines.
But what happens next now that she has been transferred from Indonesia to Manila?
Her legal counsel, Attorney Edre Olalia, talked about Veloso’s plight in a radio interview on Thursday.
“Medyo tahimik pa simula noong nagsalita si Presidente na isasangguni pa nya sa mga legal expert,” said Olalia over Radyo 630.
(It has been quiet since the President said he will consult the legal experts.)
“Ang term nya sa English ay: ‘We are still far off.’ Pero mula noon, marami na rin nag weigh in,” he recalled.
(His term in English is: ‘We are still far off.” But since then, many have weighed in.)
According to Veloso’s counsel, international lawyers as well as religious and other progressive groups have chimed in their appeal for Veloso’s clemency.
But he maintained that the ball was still in President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s hands.
“Nasa kanya ang bola. May clear shot naman sya. Bakit pa kailangang i-dribble o ipasa kung pwede naman [at] kitang kitang pwedeng i-shoot kasi nga, nasa kanya ang power?” Olalia wondered.
(He has the ball. He has a clear shot. Why should he dribble or pass if he can shoot because he has the power?)
“At sigurado naman na mashu-shoot yun dahil wala namang magkukwestyon sa kanyang kapangyarihan,” he said.
(And he has the clear shot because no one will question his authority.)
“Siguro, tyempo nga. Naiintindihan naman namin na tyempo nga. Maghihintay tayo,” Olalia noted.”Pero syempre, hindi naman tayo maghihintay nang walang kilos [kaya] mananawagan tayo nang tuluyan.”
(Maybe it’s timing. We understand that it is timing indeed. We will wait.)(But of course, we will not wait without action [so] we will continue our appeal.)
Where will Veloso go?
Upon Veloso’s arrival to the country on Dec. 18, she was immediately brought to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City.
But will she be transferred to another penal facility?
“Hindi pa malinaw,” said Olalia.
(It’s still unclear.)
“Ang malinaw lang ay kung hindi mapangungunahan ng klemensya, lalo na absolute pardon, ang karaniwan na proseso ay mag 65 days pa syang nasa rehabilitation and diagnostics center,” he said.
(The only clear thing is that if clemency was not granted, especially the absolute pardon, the usual process is that she will spend 65 days in the rehabilitation and diagnostics center.)
“Yan ang pasilidad kung saan inilalagak ang mga bagong dating na persons deprived of liberty,” the lawyer explained.
(That is the facility where newly-arrived persons deprived of liberty are housed.)
Olalia then explained the next hearing of the criminal cases for qualified human trafficking, illegal recruitment, and estafa against Veloso’s recruiters has been set for Feb. 19, 2025.
The cases were filed in the Regional Trial Court of Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija.
He said it would be timely if Veloso would be granted freedom before the next hearing—or at least before her 40th birthday on January 10.
“Hindi pa sigurado kung saan sya itutuloy pero depende yan sa evaluation ng Bureau of Corrections,” he then noted.
(It is not yet certain where she will be housed, but that depends on the evaluation of the Bureau of Corrections.)
In the same interview, Olalia thumbed down proposals for Veloso to undergo Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA), calling it problematic.
He simply noted that by going through GCTA, the Filipina death row survivor would need to wait for more or less five to six years before getting freed.
“Problematic sa amin dahil hindi tumutugon sa kahilingan namin na absolute pardon,” he simply said.
(It is problematic for us because it does not respond to our request for an absolute pardon.)
READ: ‘Good conduct’ credit for Veloso unfair, says lawyer