MANILA – Mary Jane Veloso finally returned home Wednesday morning after spending nearly 15 years in prison in Indonesia for alleged drug trafficking.
In a news release, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said Veloso arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City at around 5:51 a.m. on board Cebu Pacific flight 5J 760.
The BuCor said Veloso’s flight departed Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta at 12:05 a.m., marking “the end of a harrowing chapter of Veloso’s life.”
Upon arrival at the airport, Veloso was immediately brought to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City where she will be mandatorily housed at the Reception and Diagnostic Center for 5-day quarantine and a 55-day orientation, diagnostic evaluation and initial security classification.
BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said Veloso, during the flight, was not in a handcuff or subjected to any instrument of restraint, citing the rules of general application of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners as adopted by the First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders.
“Under the said rules, such instruments must not be applied for any longer time than is strictly necessary,” Catapang said.
Catapang assured Veloso’s family that after the quarantine period for a new person deprived of liberty, where she will undergo a comprehensive medical and physical examination, they would get to visit her in time for Christmas.
He said Veloso’s return can be attributed to the collaborative efforts of various government agencies under the leadership of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
Veloso was jailed in 2010 and was sentenced to death in the same year after 2.6 kilograms of heroin was found in her suitcase.
She was given a last-minute reprieve in April 2015 when Manila informed Jakarta that her recruiters surrendered.
In a media interview at the NAIA arrival area, Mary Jane’s mother, Celia reiterated her appeal to Marcos to grant her daughter clemency.
“Tama na po ‘yung magfi-fifteen years na sya sa kulungan na wala naman sya kasalanan, alam naman na biktima lang sya at nahatulan na rin ‘yung may-ari ng nahuli sa kanya na heroin. Sana naman ibigay na sa kanya ang clemency at pardon kay Mary Jane at nang makapiling na namin (Her almost 15 years in prison is enough since she’s innocent, she was just a victim and the owner of the heroin found from her had been convicted. I hope that clemency will be given to Mary Jane so that we live together again),” Celia said.
Veloso earlier thanked Marcos and Indonesian President Prabowo, as well as all those who facilitated her transfer to Manila. (PNA)