House solons laud pardon for Mary Jane Veloso

MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers from both the majority and minority blocs of the House of Representatives have lauded President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s decision to grant absolute pardon to Mary Jane Veloso, saying that while the development is overdue, it is still welcome.

In a statement on Friday, House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said that she and other advocates of Veloso’s release thank the administration for continuing the efforts of former president Benigno Aquino III, who successfully appealed several times with Indonesia authorities to stop her execution.

“This is very welcome news, especially for Mary Jane Veloso and her family. Long-overdue freedom and justice.  We thank this administration for heeding our longstanding call, together with various human rights and OFW rights advocates, dating back to the efforts of the late President Noynoy Aquino to appeal to Indonesia to spare Mary Jane from execution,” de Lima said.

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READ: Marcos grants Mary Jane Veloso absolute pardon 

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“Hindi na maibabalik ang mahigit isa’t kalahating dekada na naipagkait sa kanya, pero tayo po ay nagpapasalamat sa pagkakataon na sa wakas ay makakapiling at makapagsisimulang muli si Mary Jane kasama ang kanyang pamilya,” she added.

(We cannot bring back over a decade and a half taken away from her, but we are grateful that Mary Jane will be given the chance to be with her family and start over again.)

De Lima’s ally in the Minority, Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña, said in a post on X that the pardon for Veloso is “not only the right decision” but also “a triumph of justice.”

“Nakikiisa tayo sa pamilya Veloso sa kanilang pagdiriwang. Sa dulo ng kanilang mahabang paghihintay, sa wakas makakauwi na si Mary Jane. Kasabay nito, kinikilala natin ang halos 15 taong pakikibaka ng mga OFW groups, migrant rights advocates, at mga Pilipinong walang sawang nanindigan para mailigtas siya mula sa death row,” Cendaña said.

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READ: Marcos ‘seriously considering’ pardon for Mary Jane Veloso – Palace 

(We are one with the Veloso family in their celebration.  At the end of years of waiting, Mary Jane can truly return home.  Along with this, we acknowledge the almost 15 years devoted by OFW groups, migrant rights advocates, and Filipinos who tirelessly insisted that she be saved from the death row.)

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Gabriela party-list Rep. Sarah Elago said the pardon for Veloso is a testament to the efforts of Veloso herself, her family, migrant Filipinos, church leaders, human rights defenders, women’s groups, and lawyers who fought for her freedom.

“The granting of absolute pardon to Mary Jane Veloso is a victory for the people’s movement that, for the past 15 years, tirelessly fought and stood with her in the call for freedom and justice,” Elago said.

READ: Palace exec denies last-minute scramble to save Veloso 

“Hindi kusang-loob na dumating ang kalayaan ni Mary Jane. Pinaglaban ito ng kanyang pamilya, mga migranteng Pilipino, taong simbahan, human rights defenders, women’s groups, lawyers, at mamamayang patuloy na nanindigan kahit ilang taon nang tila walang kasiguruhan ang kanyang paglaya. Ang bawat pagkilos, protesta, petisyon, panawagan at pagtindig para kay Mary Jane ay bahagi ng tagumpay na ito,” she added.

(Mary Jane’s freedom did not arrive voluntarily.  It was fought for by her family, migrant Filipinos, people of the church, human rights defenders, women’s groups, lawyers, and the people who stood for her despite years of uncertainty regarding her freedom.  Every move, protest, petition, and call to stand with Mary Jane are part of this victory.)

Majority member and Manila Rep. Joel Chua also lauded the pardon, saying that this gives Veloso and her family “the chance to finally move forward after so many years.”

However, Chua said the important lesson after this is how to prevent overseas Filipino workers from experiencing the same plight that Veloso had to go through.

“But government must also ask: how do we prevent another Mary Jane Veloso? We have to find out where the system failed and what government can do earlier to protect Filipinos from recruiters and criminal networks,” he said.

“We should examine what happens from recruitment and departure all the way to detection, legal assistance, investigation, and prosecution. We need to know where the gaps are and where government can intervene sooner,” Chua added.

In a brief interview on Friday, Marcos confirmed that he had signed Mary Jane Veloso’s absolute pardon.

“I signed her pardon yesterday,” he said in Filipino.

The development came as Palace press officer Claire Castro said on Wednesday that the Office of the President was considering granting Veloso an absolute pardon on humanitarian grounds.

On April 25, 2010, Veloso was arrested at the Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, after she was caught in possession of more than 2.6 kilograms of heroin.

Veloso however claimed that had no idea that the illegal substance was stashed in her luggage.  Despite this, she was convicted for drug trafficking, and was sentenced to death.

Veloso came close several times to being executed, but Aquino III and his officials intervened, noting that the convicted individual can be used as a witness to go after drug syndicates.

Former Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras said in an April 2015 briefing that Aquino even broke diplomatic protocols in his bid to save the Filipina’s life, insisting on talking to Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi to tell her of the Philippine government’s defense for Veloso.

Negotiations stalled and came to a low point during the time of former president Rodrigo Duterte, as Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in September 2016 that the Philippine leader had given the green light for Veloso’s execution.

After failed negotiations, the situation slowly developed under Marcos, as it was revealed that after his first-ever state visits as president — one in Indonesia and one in Singapore — the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced that it had formally sought executive clemency for  Veloso.

And then in 2024, a breakthrough happened recently when Marcos announced that Philippine and Indonesian governments have agreed to bring Veloso back to Manila after 10 years of diplomacy and consultation.