Veloso ‘Saved’ Indefinitely ATM, Yasay Says
Veloso saved indefinitely – Convicted drug mule Mary Jane Veloso in Indonesia won’t be placed in the execution schedule indefinitely.
In a report by Inquirer, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said on Friday, that Indonesia already agreed to ‘save’ Veloso from sure danger.
President Rodrigo Duterte is currently in Indonesia for a 24-hour working visit to meet Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
The report added that Duterte eyes to improve the bilateral ties between the Philippines and Indonesia as well as to appeal for Veloso’s life.
Duterte has been silent about the issue regarding Veloso. He was also unable to meet with the Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) during the said visit, but a good news has been announced.
Mary Jane Veloso was found guilty of smuggling drugs and was temporarily ‘given mercy’ from a sure firing squad by the Indonesian President last April 2015.
She was convicted of carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin in 2010. Veloso said that her recruiter in the Philippines planted the drugs in her luggage without her knowledge.
According to Yasay, Veloso’s executi0n schedule has been postponed ‘indefinitely’ at the moment as she will be testifying against her illegal recruiter which, if proven that Veloso is the victim, it would be the time when clemency is to be asked soon.
“This is not an urgent issue as of now, let’s finish the process. Her scheduled execution has been deferred because she would be testifying in the deposition case against her illegal recruiter. After prosecuting the illegal recruiter who are the main principals here and if it turns out in the trial in the Philippines that Mary Jane is a victim then at the point we can ask for clemency soon,” Yasay said as quoted in the report.
Meanwhile, in Duterte’s visit in Indonesia, he will be meeting the Filipino community after his attendance at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit held in Laos.
In a report on CNN Philippines, it is said that Duterte, in the morning, is expected to meet more than 500 Filipinos at the Grand Ballroom of Shangrila Hotel Jakarta.
And in the afternoon, he will be laying a wreath at the National Monument of Jakarta and will go straight to meet Widodo at the Presidential Palace.
According to the report, the two ASEAN leaders will discuss maritime security in relation to the set of abductions of Indonesians by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Mindanao.
President Duterte will go back the country after a state dinner in Indonesia, Friday.
