The Philippine government is still hoping that Indonesian President Joko Widodo would grant executive clemency to convicted drug courier Mary Jane Veloso, Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said on Wednesday.
During the House of Representatives dangerous drugs committee hearing, De Lima clarified that the government was not pushing Widodo for the executive clemency so as not to pressure the Indonesian leader.
BACKSTORY: Timeline: The case of Mary Jane Veloso
“We’re looking at executive clemency, either pardon or commutation of sentence. But we don’t want to be harping on this point. We don’t want the Indonesian authorities to be pressured by our government,” De Lima told lawmakers hearing updates on Veloso’s plight.
READ: Mary Jane Veloso: ‘If God wants me to be alive, I’ll live’
Veloso’s execution by firing squad was suspended at the last minute after her alleged recruiter Maria Kristina Sergio surrendered to police in Nueva Ecija.
Since Sergio requested police custody, other people have surfaced claiming to be victims of her human trafficking activities.
The Philippines requested the suspension of Veloso’s saying she could stand as a witness in Sergio’s human trafficking, illegal recruitment and estafa cases.
Noel Francisco Fernandez, special assistant at the DFA’s office of migrant workers’ affairs, said President Benigno Aquino III had always asked Widodo for executive clemency for Veloso.
In her affidavit, Veloso said she was used by a syndicate as a drug mule after she fell victim to illegal recruitment.
She was originally recruited as a domestic helper in Kuala Lumpur until her recruiter, Sergio, asked her to proceed to Indonesia with an empty but heavy suitcase. She was arrested in Indonesia after authorities found 2.6 kilos of heroin hidden in the lining of the luggage.