Veloso’s mother begs for understanding

By: Erika Sauler - 10 years ago

Celia Veloso, mother of convicted drug trafficker Mary Jane Veloso, on Saturday appealed for understanding from the people who called her “ungrateful” for bashing President Benigno Aquino III two days after her daughter was spared from execution in Indonesia.

In a press conference with Migrante International, the global alliance of overseas Filipinos, Veloso had said she was holding the Aquino administration accountable for letting her daughter languish in an Indonesian jail for five years.

In a phone interview on Saturday, Veloso said she was still thankful to her critics for supporting her daughter even as she appealed for understanding.

“Sana malaman nila ang katotohanan. Sana lahat ng nag-comment ngayon, maunawaan ninyo po ako (I hope they learn the truth. I hope they will understand me),” she said.

“Hindi po kasi naiintindihan ng kababayan natin ang sitwasyon ko. Dalawang taong mahigit po kaming lumapit sa kanila. Puro lang po pangako ang mga tauhan nila (Our countrymen do not understand my situation. We sought the government’s help for two years. We only got promises),” Veloso said, referring to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

“Kahit po si Indonesian President Widodo ang sagot sa kanya nang tumawag siya ay, ‘Bakit ngayon lang?’ (Even Indonesian President Widodo’s answer to President Aquino’s call was, ‘Why only now?’)” Veloso said.

Mary Jane was sentenced to death for smuggling heroin into Indonesia in 2010.

Veloso said no one attended to her daughter’s case for five years. That, she said, was what she would hold the President accountable for.