Just recently, DSWD Sec. Judy M. Taguiwalo sent DSWD Assistant Secretary for OSEC Group Aleli Bawagan to visit Ms. Mary Jane Veloso to check on her condition in Wirogunan Prison in Jogjakarta Indonesia from November 9-11, 2016.

Asec. Bawagan also handed two letters for Ms. Veloso. One letter came from Ms. Veloso’s family and  the other from Sec. Taguiwalo. She also shared to Ms. Veloso the report from National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), while Ms. Veloso recounted how she ended up in Indonesia through her neighbor/recruiter.

Asec. Aleli also bought Ms. Veloso a pair of rubber shoes so she can play volleyball.  Ms. Veloso showed her the batiks and crochets she weaves in prison to earn money so she can send money to her family in the Philippines. Before leaving, Ms. Veloso handed Asec. Bawagan a crochet bag she made as a gift to Sec. Taguiwalo.

“Mary Jane is in command of herself. I initially thought that she might be depressed after being imprisoned for almost seven years now,” Asec. Bawagan said.

Based from her consultation with Ms. Veloso, Asec. Bawagan has forwarded to Sec. Taguiwalo recommendations to further assist Ms. Veloso and her family.

Summary of assistance

“Aside from efforts to bring justice to Mary Jane Veloso which is being worked on by several government agencies and her legal team, DSWD must ensure that we provide assistance to her family. Six years is too much for a mother to bear especially when the reason for living the country is to establish a bright future for her kids. The department must be proactive in fighting human trafficking and in assisting the victims and their families,” Sec. Taguiwalo said.

From May 11, 2015 to July 2016, DSWD Field Office III has provided P66,482 worth of services to Ms. Mary Jane Veloso’s family through the different services offered by the department. These services were provided to Ms. Veloso’s two son, Mark Daniel, 13 years old and Mark Darren Candelaria, 6 years old, to her partner Michael Candelaria, a farmer living in Talavera, Nueva Ecija, to her parents Cesar and Celia Veloso, and to her mother in-law Teresita Candelaria.

The total amount per assistance provided are as follow: P5,000 transportation assistance was provided to Ms. Celia Veloso. A total of P15,000 for medical assistance was given to Mrs. Celia and Mr. Cesar Veloso. Ten food packs each were provided to Celia Veloso and Michael Candelaria totaling to 20 food packs worth P7,320. DSWD was also able to provide a total of P8,000 educational assistance for the two children of Ms. Veloso.  For the livelihood assistance, Teresita Candelaria and Marites Veloso received P10,000 each, totaling to P20,000.

Aside from the assistance provided above, Ms. Veloso’s children are also Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries receiving a grant of P1,300 per month. Mark Daniel and Mark Darren have also received psychological assessment and counseling session a few days after their mother’s execution was stayed. A possibility of providing Ms. Mary Jane Veloso’s family a Nego Kart is also being explored by the department.

The trafficking and the stayed execution

On April 22, 2010, Ms. Mary Jane Veloso went to Malaysia with her neighbor and recruiter Crisitina Sergio who promised to find her a job in Malaysia.  She gave Ms. Sergio P7,000, their tricycle, and a cellphone so she can buy her a ticket to Malaysia.

After staying for two days in Malaysia, Ms. Sergio sent Ms. Veloso to meet a friend in Jogjakarta, Indonesia. Before the trip to Indonesia, Ms. Sergio provided Ms. Veloso a new bag to use. When she asked why it was heavy, Ms. Sergio replied, “because it is new.” For the trip to Indonesia, she thought that she will get from Ms. Sergio’s friend some items to be sold in Malaysia, such as lotion and perfume.

On April 25, Ms. Veloso was apprehended by the Customs and Excise Authorities upon arriving at the Audisucipto International Airport in Jogjakarta Indonesia due to an alleged possession of 2.6 kilograms of heroin found in the interior of her bag. A custom officer needed to use a cutter to cut through the back of her luggage near the handle where they found an aluminum foil wrapped on a black plastic bag.

By October 11, 2010, Ms Veloso was sentenced to death penalty.

On April 29, 2015, Indonesian President Joko Widodo ordered the suspension of execution of the death sentence on Veloso after the Philippine government cited the surrender of the alleged recruiters and the importance of cooperation between the Philippine and Indonesia to seize the opportunity of going after drug syndicates, which, without Ms. Veloso’s testimony, would not be possible.

Days before the execution, a popular appeal to save the life of Ms. Veloso was evident in social media. People’s organizations such as Migrante, religious organizations, and other civil society organizations took to the streets their call to save the life of Mary Jane Veloso. Even Manny Pacquiao who was in the United States for a boxing match at that time appealed to Indonesian President Joko Widodo to grant an executive clemency to Ms. Veloso.

One of the Indoneisan lawyers handling the case of Ms. Veloso said that this is the first time a stay in execution happened in Indonesia.

Just recently, a new judge handling Mary Jane’s case has ruled to allow Ms. Veloso’s testimony through a written deposition to be done in Indonesia. ###