Matapos ang 14 na taon sa kulungan ng Indonesia, nakauwi na sa Pilipinas ang OFW na si Mary Jane Veloso. Pero hindi pa tiyak kung tuluyan siyang makalalaya, ang sigurado ngayon ligtas na siya sa parusang kamatayan. Paano nga ba humantong sa masalimuot na kapalaran ang buhay ni Mary Jane? Here’s what you need to know.
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00:00In 2010, a mother went abroad to give her family a better life.
00:06After 14 years abroad, she was finally able to go home.
00:10But from a prison in Indonesia.
00:14How did Mary Jane Veloso's life end up in a forgotten place?
00:20I'm Humor Yanga, and here's what you need to know.
00:23Mary Jane Veloso's Life
00:28Born to five siblings, Mary Jane Veloso was born in 1985.
00:34She only finished her first year of high school.
00:37Mary Jane Veloso had two children, which is why she chose to go abroad.
00:42Mary Jane joined Dubai in 2009 as an assistant.
00:45She only had a two-year contract, but within a year, she returned to the Philippines.
00:49This was after she was arrested for entering the country.
00:53In 2010, she was legally recruited by her friend, Maria Cristina Serio, as an assistant in Malaysia.
00:59But when they arrived there, the job they were hoping for was no longer available.
01:03Cristina gave another job offer to Mary Jane in Indonesia.
01:08Mary Jane was immediately impressed.
01:10Cristina gave her a suitcase.
01:14But when they arrived at an airport in Yogyakarta, Indonesia,
01:17they found drugs in Mary Jane's suitcase.
01:20The 2.6 kilos of heroin were found in the lining of her suitcase.
01:24She was immediately arrested and arrested.
01:27After six months, she was found guilty in a drug trafficking case.
01:31She was sentenced to death penalty, and in 2015, she was released.
01:38Mary Jane has been in prison for a long time.
01:41She has been through three administrations.
01:43First, the administration of the former President Benigno Noynoy Aquino.
01:49In 2011, the former President Aquino came to Indonesia to give a clemency to Mary Jane.
01:56The clemency is one of the powers of the President of the country,
01:59to pardon a criminal or to reduce his sentence.
02:04But in 2014, the President of the country, Joko Widodo,
02:08who will not give a clemency to an individual in the death row for drug-related offenses,
02:15including Mary Jane.
02:18April 24, 2015.
02:20Mary Jane was transferred to Nusa Kambangan Island, also known as Execution Island.
02:25This is also the day she announced that she filed a second judicial review for Mary Jane's case.
02:31April 28, 2015.
02:33One day before the execution of Mary Jane,
02:36the former President Aquino called the Indonesian Foreign Minister for a proposal
02:41to make Mary Jane a state witness against his recruiters.
02:46A few hours before he was sent to the firing squad,
02:49Indonesia gave the Philippines a temporary reprieve or suspension of execution.
02:56When President Rodrigo Duterte was already seated,
02:59he said that he will not be involved in Indonesia's decision based on their law.
03:06In 2020, Mary Jane's recruiters, Maria Cristina Serio and Julius Lacanilau,
03:13were sentenced to life imprisonment
03:16and a fine of P2 million for the illegal recruitment of three other victims.
03:21When President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was seated,
03:24Mary Jane's parents asked for help to give Indonesia's clemency to their child.
03:32This year, two Indonesian presidents visited Malacanang.
03:37In January, it was former President Joko Widodo,
03:40and in September, it was former President-elect President Prabowo Subianto.
03:46President Marcos, on the other hand, visited Indonesia four times since he was seated.
03:53The last time was when he attended the inauguration of President Prabowo Subianto in October.
03:59On November 20, President Marcos announced the return of Mary Jane to the country.
04:05On December 17, Mary Jane was already brought to the airport in Indonesia
04:09for her scheduled flight to the Philippines.
04:12On the morning of December 18, Mary Jane landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
04:18She was directed to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong.
04:22Here, she was welcomed by her family.
04:25They waited for her for 14 years.
04:29Mary Jane was already transferred to the Philippines, but it is not yet certain if she will be released.
04:35Because one of the conditions of the transfer of prisoners policy of Indonesia
04:39is the continuation of the sentence from the so-called country.
04:45There is no death penalty in the Philippines, so it is possible that Mary Jane will be given a life sentence.
04:51What is certain is that she will be released from the death penalty.
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