DID he say it or didn’t he?
That’s the question asked now after Indonesia President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said that President Rodrigo Duterte has given the “go ahead” for the execution of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina worker caught at the Yogyakarta airport in April 2010 carrying 2.6 kilos of heroin in the lining of her luggage. Veloso is alive only because Widodo gave in to a plea by former president Noynoy Aquino and to a legal maneuver by the Philippine government and Veloso’s lawyers.
In his speech before members of the 250th Philippine Airlift Wing at the Villamor Air Base yesterday, Duterte denied bringing up Veloso’s case in his one-on-one talk with Widodo during his visit to Indonesia after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and East Asia Summits in Laos. “We never mentioned Veloso. Sinabi ko lang, we will respect the judgment of your courts. Period,” the President said.
It’s an interesting twist because after the Jakarta Post published the story over the weekend and Veloso’s relatives and concerned Filipinos sought clarifications, Malacañang spokespersons didn’t say that the Veloso case was not taken up in the Duterte-Jokowi conversation. But they did mention that “we respect the judgment of your courts” line. Now, was the Veloso case taken up in the talks or wasn’t it?
It looks like this issue is headed for the “Widodo said, Duterte said” dilemma. I take it that their conversation of the two heads of state was done behind closed doors so that Duterte, when he returned after the Indonesia trip, refused to divulge its details. That means it would be difficult to get to the bottom of the issue and that this would already be Widodo’s word against that of our President. It would be interesting to find out Jokowi’s response to what our side is saying.
I read somewhere one of the Filipino lawyers handling Veloso’s case, Edre Olalia, say that despite Widodo’s statement the Filipina’s case has remained where it has been since the stay of her execution. I think everything is still dependent on the prosecution of the case in a Philippine court against Veloso’s recruiter Ma. Kristina Sergio and her partner Julius Lacanilao. The hope is that the Indonesian court would eventually be convinced that Veloso was not a drug mule but was merely tricked by her recruiter and commute her sentence.
But things could go for the worse if Widodo really believes that Duterte has given the go signal for Veloso’s execution. That I think is precisely why he raised the issue to the media. Consider that public opinion both in Indonesia and in the Philippines played a big role in Widodo’s decision to momentarily spare Veloso. If pressure to save the life of Veloso eases, wouldn't that give Widodo the daring to include Veloso in the next batch of convicts to be executed?
This early, I think the President should reach out to Widodo, if not him personally then through his subordinates like Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay. Malacañang should deliver to Indonesia unequivocally the government's official stand. I don't think saying that “we respect the judgment of your courts” is the best position on this. Malacañang should ask for the commutation of Veloso's sentence to a lower grade. She may not be freed but her life should be spared.
Imagine the backlash if Veloso is executed after all the efforts that have been spent by the government and other concerned sectors to save her life.
(khanwens@gmail.com)