MANILA (LiCAS News): Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., granted Mary Jane Veloso an absolute pardon, clearing the way for her release after more than 16 years in detention.
“I’ll give you a scoop: I signed her pardon yesterday,” Marcos told reporters on September 25.
Veloso, 40, spent nearly 15 years in an Indonesian prison after she was arrested in 2010 and sentenced to death for drug trafficking. Indonesia transferred her to the Philippines in December 2024 under an arrangement that allowed her to serve the remainder of her sentence at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City.
Migrant and rights groups hailed the decision as a victory for the global campaign for Veloso’s freedom, while renewing calls for stronger protection of Filipino victims of trafficking.
At the time, Bishop Ruperto Santos of Antipolo, vice chairperson of the CBCP Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, said Veloso’s homecoming “symbolises hope and the power of prayer.”
Bishop Santos said, “Her homecoming is a triumph of faith, justice, and our community’s steadfast support.”
Indonesian authorities arrested Veloso after finding 2.6 kilogrammes of heroin in the lining of a suitcase she was carrying. She has maintained that she did not know the luggage contained drugs and that recruiters deceived her while she was seeking work abroad.
Her execution was halted at the last minute in 2015 after Philippine authorities arrested her suspected recruiter and asked Indonesia to spare her so she could testify against her alleged traffickers.
Migrante International welcomed the pardon, calling it “an historic victory for the global people’s movement that has long fought for freedom and justice for Mary Jane as a victim of human trafficking”.
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The migrant rights group said the campaign, which began with efforts to stop Veloso’s execution in 2015, drew support from people’s and migrant organisations, interfaith leaders, human rights groups, lawyers, elected officials and supporters in the Philippines and abroad.
“Mary Jane’s long-awaited freedom is a testament to the power of the people’s collective action,” Migrante said.
The group cited years of vigils, rallies, protests, prayers, petitions, lobbying and other actions aimed at pressing government leaders to act.
Migrante also credited Veloso’s parents and family for sustaining the campaign despite years of uncertainty about her fate.
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers said Veloso’s case reflected the vulnerability of Filipinos who seek work abroad and become exposed to trafficking and exploitation.
Mary Jane’s long-awaited freedom is a testament to the power of the people’s collective action
Migrante
“After more than 16 long years, Mary Jane Veloso is finally coming home free,” the NUPL said.
The group described Veloso as “a migrant worker and trafficking victim who came perilously close to execution.”
The group said, “In the process, she became a powerful symbol of the struggles endured by countless Filipinos driven abroad by necessity and made vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation”.
The lawyers called for greater protection for trafficking victims, saying Veloso’s experience should not be repeated.
“Her freedom is cause for celebration. It is also a reminder of why trafficking victims must be met first with protection, compassion and justice, and why no victim should have to spend years fighting simply to be recognised as one”, the group said.
Migrante said the pardon should also renew scrutiny of government policies affecting Filipino migrant workers.
It called for accountability from government officials and stronger protection for migrant workers facing trafficking, detention and criminalisation.
Veloso had travelled to Indonesia seeking work as a domestic worker before her arrest. Her case prompted years of appeals from migrant organisations, women’s groups, human rights advocates, lawyers and Church groups.
Veloso’s mother, Celia, told Agence France Press that Veloso’s two sons were happy about the news and quoted them as saying, “‘We will finally be able to be with mama.’”
