Clutching a copy of the absolute pardon that President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr granted her, 41-year-old Mary Jane Veloso walked out of the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City Friday to freedom in tears.
One can imagine that the profuse tears must have been a release of 16 years of pain and suffering and finally, joy.
Traveling as an overseas worker in 2010, she was arrested in Indonesia in possession of more than two kilos of heroin. Despite her claim that she was a victim of a drug syndicate, she was convicted and sentenced to death.
In 2015, she was granted a reprieve by the Indonesian government in response to the appeal of then president Benigno Aquino III. In 2024 she was extradited back to the Philippines and remained in jail until her pardon by Marcos Sept. 25.
Edre U. Olalia, chairperson of National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers and legal counsel for Veloso and her family, said in a statement, “Finally, humanity wins.”
“This long-awaited humanitarian gesture stands out and is certainly appreciated. Yet the bigger picture and long view of the plight of overseas workers and many other people’s issues must be at front and center and should not be lost on us.
“We must be grateful and count our blessings that come any way though.
“Good things happen to good people.”