PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is seriously considering granting detained former overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Mary Jane Veloso an absolute pardon.
This was confirmed by Bataan 2nd District Representative Albert Raymond Garcia during the deliberations on the proposed budget of the Office of the President, which he sponsored, at the plenary on Tuesday evening, September 22.
“The Office of the President is seriously considering granting an absolute pardon to Mary Jane Veloso on humanitarian grounds in support of the government's commitment to protecting Filipino migrant workers,” Garcia said.
“There will be an announcement in a few days,” he added.
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto earlier said Malacañang is reviewing the legal provisions surrounding Veloso's case, with high consideration to the Philippine government's engagements with Indonesia.
Veloso was arrested and detained in Indonesia in 2010 after airport authorities discovered 2.6 kilograms of heroin concealed in her luggage, which she said was given to her by her recruiter as a gift.
She was sentenced to death in 2015 but was granted a temporary reprieve following the surrender of her recruiter, who was charged with illegal recruitment, human trafficking and estafa in relation to Veloso’s case.
The Indonesian government allowed Veloso’s return to the Philippines in December 2024.
Veloso was brought directly to the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City.
Her return was followed by the filing of a resolution in the House of Representatives urging Marcos to grant Veloso executive clemency. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)