YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — A Filipina, Mary Jane Veloso, who was previously on death row in Indonesia and faced execution by firing squad in 2015, is set to return to the Philippines this week following an agreement between the two nations, officials announced on Monday.
Veloso has spent nearly 15 years imprisoned in Indonesia for drug trafficking. Her life was spared after she revealed in court how a criminal organization had manipulated her into unwittingly participating in drug smuggling. Late on Sunday, she was transferred from a prison to a women’s facility in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, and will be flown back to the Philippines early on Wednesday, according to I Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram, a Ministry of Immigration and Corrections representative, who spoke at a news briefing.
The arrangement for her repatriation was formalized in a “practical arrangement” signed between Indonesia and the Philippines on December 6, after the Philippines had been advocating for her release for over a decade.
In an emotional interview last week, Veloso expressed her feelings about returning home, describing it as a “miracle” after losing all hope throughout her ordeal. “I have been away from my children and parents for almost 15 years and missed watching my children grow up,” she shared, adding, “I wish to have the chance to care for my children and be close to my parents.”
Veloso, approaching her 40th birthday next month, was arrested in 2010 at an airport in Yogyakarta after authorities discovered approximately 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin in her luggage. As a single mother of two boys, she was convicted for drug trafficking and sentenced to death.
Her case sparked significant outcry in the Philippines. Veloso had traveled to Indonesia in 2010 under the impression that she would be taking a domestic worker position, allegedly arranged by her recruiter, Maria Kristina Sergio, who is said to have supplied the suitcase containing the drugs.
In 2015, while Veloso was being transferred to an island prison for execution along with eight other convicted drug traffickers, her life was spared when Sergio was arrested in the Philippines—just two days prior to the execution date. Although Indonesia executed the other eight inmates, Veloso was granted a reprieve.
In the Philippines, her two sons expressed their anticipation for her return during a conversation with a news outlet. The boys, who were just 1 and 6 years old when she was detained in 2010, are eagerly looking forward to reuniting with their mother. “I want to hug her tightly. I really missed my Mama,” said her youngest son, Mark Darren Candelaria. He added, “I hope she can be home before Christmas so we can celebrate happily together.”
The family is also appealing to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for executive clemency for Veloso.
The last executions carried out in Indonesia involved an Indonesian and three foreign nationals in July 2016. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has pointed out that Indonesia remains a significant hub for drug trafficking, despite having some of the strictest drug laws globally, largely because international drug syndicates exploit its young population.
Currently, Indonesia has about 530 individuals on death row, predominantly for drug-related offenses, which includes 96 foreign nationals, according to recent statistics from the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections.
Recently, five Australians who had been imprisoned for nearly two decades for heroin trafficking returned to Australia as part of an agreement between the Indonesian and Australian governments. Additionally, Indonesia has tentatively agreed to repatriate a French man and a British woman, both of whom are on death row, back to their respective countries.
