Groups, family members seek Malacañang’s clemency for Mary Jane Veloso

The family of Mary Jane Veloso, and members of Migrante International, Bayan Muna Partylist, Save Mary Jane Task Force, and Makabayan, seek Malacañang’s clemency for the former overseas Filipino worker on January 10, 2024. The petitioners also pay Veloso a visit at the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong where a picket action in Mendiola is held to call for her freedom. (Photos courtesy of Migrante International)

MANILA, Philippines — The family of Mary Jane Veloso and members of various progressive groups formalized their call for the freedom of the convicted former overseas Filipino worker through a clemency petition submitted in Malacañang on Friday.

The petition, submitted on Veloso’s 40th birthday, bore 8,283 signatures calling on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to grant Veloso freedom and reunite her with her family, whom she has not been with for almost 15 years.

READ: Mary Jane Veloso appeals to Marcos for clemency

Groups Migrante International, Bayan Muna Partylist, Save Mary Jane Task Force, and Makabayan assisted in garnering signatures and accompanied Veloso’s family during the petition submission.

Earlier in the day, the family and supporters of Veloso visited her at the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong.

During their visit, her mother, Celia Veloso, expressed determination to push for her daughter’s clemency.

“Though we are saddened because our Mary Jane is still not free on her birthday, we are empowered to campaign for clemency from Marcos because we can see her in the Philippines.” said Celia Veloso in Filipino, as quoted in a statement from Migrante International.

Meanwhile, Migrante International Chairperson Joanna Concepcion urged Marcos to use his “unbound power” to free Veloso.

“Can we really say that Marcos has a heart if he is leaving Mary Jane, a trafficking victim, to suffer still in detention on her own birthday? Now that she has been in the country for nearly a month, Marcos should use his unbound power to grant her clemency if he truly cares to make a stand against human trafficking, which has become so pervasive in our country,” she said.

Concepcion further said, “The clock is now ticking on Marcos to grant Mary Jane clemency. The number of Mary Jane’s supporters continues to grow from the Philippines to beyond. Around the world, we will not stop speaking out until Mary Jane is free. We will continue to stand not only for Mary Jane, but all Filipinos still on death row and all migrant victims of human trafficking.”

Aside from the birthday visit and submission of the clemency petition, the family and supporters of Veloso also led a picket action at Mendiola.

READ: Clemency for Mary Jane Veloso still subject to review – Marcos

Marcos, last December, already said that granting clemency to Veloso still needs to be assessed by legal experts.

“Malayo pa tayo run. (We are still far from it). We still have to have a look at really what her status is,” he said.

“We will leave it to the legal judgment of our legal experts to determine whether the provision of clemency is appropriate,” he added.

Veloso, convicted of drug trafficking in Indonesia, arrived in Manila on December 18. In 2010, she was arrested at Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta after she was found in possession of more than 2.6 kilograms of heroin.

Veloso maintained that she was unaware of the contents of the luggage as it was only handed over to her by her recruiters, identified as Julius Lacanilao and Maria Cristina Sergio.