Minutes to execution agonizing, says drug mule’s sis

MARY Jane Veloso (right) is reunited with her children, sister and mother in February 2015 when they visited her in the Indonesian jail where she is held for illegal drug trafficking. PHOTO COURTESY OF VELOSO FAMILY

CABANATUAN CITY—As minutes ticked away, all that Maritess Veloso-Laurente could hear was the sharp pounding of her heart. At midnight on April 28 last year, Laurente’s sister, convicted drug mule Mary Jane Veloso, would be executed by a firing squad for smuggling 2.6 kilograms of heroin into Indonesia in 2010.

Laurente was at the Nusakambangan prison-island off the southern coast of Java, the only family member allowed to look after her sister after her death sentence was carried out.

A burst of gunfire startled Laurente, and she became hysterical, crying out, “Mary Jane… Mary Jane!”

“I created a ruckus. I cried and cried,” she recalled on Wednesday, the eve of the anniversary of the supposed execution  that had been suspended by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Widodo heeded President Aquino’s request to allow the government time to prosecute people who allegedly tricked Veloso into carrying a suitcase of illegal narcotics into Indonesia.

On Thursday, Veloso’s mother, Celia, took the stand as second prosecution witness on the illegal recruitment case against her suspected recruiters, Ma. Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao, at the regional trial court in Santo  Domingo, Nueva Ecija province.

Celia corroborated the testimonies of other witnesses that Sergio and Lacanilao were the recruiters of Veloso, said lawyer Edre Olalia, secretary general of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers and the private prosecutor.

Olalia said Celia had finished the direct examination “despite extended argumentation on legal points” between the defense and the prosecution.

“She vividly recalled, while sobbing, the miserable life that gripped her youngest daughter,” Olalia said. He said Celia had told the court that what happened to Veloso “could not be assuaged by anything in this world.”

In an earlier interview with the Inquirer, Laurente said the minutes before the execution were “the most harrowing experience of her life.”

“I was allowed by the prison authorities to be there to receive the body of [Veloso]. With me [in the holding room] was an official from the Philippine Embassy, a Filipino journalist and the girlfriend of a convict who was also sentenced to death,” she said.

“One of her last wishes was to fly her remains together with us, members of the family, back to the Philippines where she would be cremated,” Laurente said.

She also remembered the time when Veloso had told her children: “Be proud of your mother because she died owning up to the sins of others.”

Laurente said she could not see what was happening at the execution area, which was blocked by trees, except for bright lights.

Fifteen minutes later, she was informed that Veloso was given a temporary reprieve. “What a … big relief that was,” she said.

Celia admitted that she could not believe one of her grandsons when he started shouting: “My mother is alive!”

Celia said they last visited Veloso at the Wirongunan Women’s Penitentiary in Yogyakarta on Jan. 11 this year when she turned 31 years old.

Veloso’s husband, Cesar, and their sons joined the trip, arranged by the Department of Foreign Affairs at the request of the local chapter of Migrante International.

“When I asked her if there was news of another scheduled execution, [Veloso replied], ‘Wala… wala (None… none),’” Celia said.

Last year, Laurente said, Veloso had told the family that they should “prepare their hearts and minds for her impending execution.”

“Let’s prepare ourselves for any eventuality. Let’s leave it to the will of God,” Laurente quoted Veloso as telling them. Veloso had gifted Laurente with a rosary she made while in prison.

Veloso worked in Dubai from 2009 to 2010 as a maid but she returned home after her employer tried to rape here, Laurente said.

“She was convinced by a lady acquaintance [Sergio] in a nearby town to work in Malaysia instead. She was provided with travel papers and a free ticket as a tourist,” Laurente said.

“[Veloso] and her friend left on April 22, 2010, for Malaysia for a job as a domestic helper of her friend’s acquaintance,” Laurente added.

In a subsequent telephone call, Veloso told Laurente that she was proceeding to Indonesia, also with the help of Sergio, because the job in Malaysia was no longer available.

She also said her friend bought her personal belongings and a big traveling bag for her trip to Indonesia, Laurente said.

“After 15 days, [Veloso] confessed to us that she was apprehended at the Adisucipto International Airport in Indonesia for suspected heroin smuggling and that she was in jail,” she said.

“[Veloso] said the X-ray machine at the airport showed that her traveling bag concealed… heroin,” Laurente said.

In October 2010, the Sleman District Court sentenced Veloso to death.

“My sister was duped. If she was a courier for an international illegal drug syndicate, as was reported, she could have [helped] our parents and her children [get out of] poverty,” Laurente said. With a report from Armand Galang, Inquirer Central Luzon