Please register to access this content.
To continue viewing the content you love, please sign in or create a new account
Dismiss
This content is for our paying subscribers only

Asia Philippines

Philippines renews appeal for clemency for Filipina on death row in Indonesia

Mary Jane Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 carrying a suitcase lined with heroin



Officers take Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso (C) of the Philippines, to her first judicial review trial in the District Court of Sleman inYogyakarta in this March 3, 2015 file photo.
Image Credit: Reuters

Manila: The Philippines renewed Tuesday its appeal for clemency for a Filipino woman on death row in Indonesia, hours before the country's president was scheduled to arrive in Manila for an official visit.

It was the latest high-level attempt to save the life of Mary Jane Veloso, who was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin and was later sentenced to death.

read more

She won a last-minute reprieve from the firing squad in 2015 after a woman suspected of recruiting her was arrested in the Philippines.

"We're working to see whether we can find a way towards resolving the case soon, and clemency," Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo told reporters after meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi in Manila.

Advertisement

At their meeting, Manalo "reiterated the Philippine request for clemency to be granted to Ms Veloso", foreign department spokeswoman Teresita Daza told reporters.

Manalo previously sought clemency for Veloso in 2022.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is set to leave office in October after reaching the end of a two-term limit, is due to hold talks with his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos on Wednesday.

The parents and children of Veloso, who turns 39 on Wednesday, are expected to join a protest near the palace.

Advertisement