Marcos says Indonesia has agreed to return a Filipino drug prisoner sentenced to death to the Philippines

MANILA – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Wednesday that an agreement has been reached for Indonesia to return a Philippine drug prisoner on death row who was almost executed by firing squad but was given a reprieve due to years of pleas from Manila.

Marcos thanked Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and his government for granting a long-standing Philippine request to bring Mary Jane Veloso back home to serve her sentence in her country.

“Mary Jane Veloso is coming home,” Marcos said in a statement. “The case of Mary Jane was arrested in 2010 on drug trafficking charges and sentenced to death.”

It was not immediately clear when Veloso would be flown back to the Philippines, but Marcos said he looked forward to welcoming her home.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Immigration and Correction said in a statement that it was not aware of any agreement to release or transfer Veloso to the Philippines.

Evi Loliancy, the head of Yogyakarta’s women’s prison, told The Associated Press that Veloso “would remain under our supervision in the Yogyakarta correctional institution until there is a specific order regarding her transfer from the Supreme Court.”

Philippine Deputy Foreign Secretary Eduardo de Vega said at a news conference in Manila that Philippine authorities would discuss the legal terms of Veloso’s transfer with their Indonesian counterparts. He added that they had not asked for anything or indicated when she might be repatriated.

The Indonesian government has asked the Justice Department in Manila to formally request Veloso’s transfer to the Philippines, where she remains detained. The Philippine Justice Secretary sent the request letter to Indonesia, said Mico Clavano, spokesperson for the Philippine Department of Justice.

“This is an example of an inmate moving from one criminal justice system in one jurisdiction to another,” Clavano said.

The decision, Marcos said, “is a reflection of the depth of our country’s partnership with Indonesia – united in a shared commitment to justice and compassion.”

Details of the deal were not immediately disclosed, but if Veloso’s transfer goes through, it would remove the possibility that she faces an execution because the Philippines, Asia’s largest Roman Catholic nation, has long abolished the death penalty.

In 2015, Indonesian authorities moved Veloso to an island prison where she and eight other drug prisoners were to be executed by firing squad, despite objections from the convicts’ home countries, including Australia, Brazil, France, Ghana and Nigeria.

Indonesia executed the eight other drug prisoners.

Veloso’s case has sparked public outrage in the Philippines, where her family and supporters claim she is innocent and were unaware that someone had hidden 2.6 kilos of heroin in her suitcase that was discovered when she entered Indonesia .

Philippine authorities had filed criminal complaints, including for human trafficking, against the illegal Filipino recruiters who allowed Veloso to work in Indonesia, Clavano said, adding that she would serve as a crucial witness in the trial of the suspects if she returns .

That Philippine case convinced Indonesian authorities to delay Veloso’s execution and eventually consider her transfer to her country, Clavano said.

Veloso, a poor housewife, traveled to Indonesia in 2010, where her godsister reportedly told her a job as a domestic worker was waiting for her. Her godsister is also said to have supplied the suitcase in which the banned drugs were found.

Marcos said Veloso’s story resonated with many in the Philippines, as “a mother caught in the grip of poverty who made a desperate choice that changed the course of her life.”

“Although she was held responsible under Indonesian law, she remains a victim of her circumstances,” Marcos said.

The Philippines has been a source of manual labor worldwide, with many impoverished women abandoning their families for higher-paying jobs and better opportunities abroad. Alarming abuse, especially of Filipino domestic workers, has prompted Philippine authorities to impose restrictions and safeguards, but exploitation continues.

At least 59 Filipinos around the world face the death penalty, mainly for drug and murder convictions, the Foreign Ministry in Manila said.

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Associated Press journalist Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia contributed to this report.