The family, supporters, and lawyers of Mary Jane Veloso, the overseas Filipino worker convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking, appealed to the Supreme Court on Thursday to expedite the resolution of the cases against her alleged recruiters and traffickers.In a letter addressed to Court Administrator Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta, Veloso’s counsel, urged the Supreme Court to act on a Nueva Ecija court’s referral regarding its order granting motions to conduct hearings at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City, where Veloso remains detained.
‘In view of the exceptional circumstances and the compelling humanitarian considerations attendant to this case, we respectfully request the prompt and favorable action of your Office. Such action would substantially advance the interests of justice and provide critical relief to Ms. Veloso and her family,’ the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) said.
Celia, Veloso’s mother, urged the high court to act on the matter, lamenting the repeated postponements of her daughter’s supposed testimony.
Veloso returned to the Philippines in 2024 after 14 years in prison in Indonesia, nine of which she spent on death row for a drug trafficking conviction.
She was arrested in Yogyakarta in 2010 after 2.6 kilos of heroin were discovered concealed in her suitcase. She claimed the illegal drugs were put there by her recruiters.
Jakarta allowed her transfer to her home country last year after commuting her death sentence. Under the agreement between the Philippines and Indonesia, Veloso will serve the remainder of her unspecified prison term in Manila, where the death penalty is not imposed.
Since her return on Dec. 18, 2024, Veloso has been attending hearings remotely on the pending qualified trafficking and estafa cases filed against her recruiters, according to the NUPL.
The group noted that on June 11, the Regional Trial Court Branch 89 in Baloc, Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija, granted separate motions from both the prosecution and the defense to conduct hearings at the CIW.
The court order, the NUPL said, was then referred to the Supreme Court for appropriate action.
Ultimately, Veloso’s family reiterated their appeal to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to grant her executive clemency.
‘My mother has been feeling a lot of pain. She keeps complaining about different ailments, so she told us to beg the President to please let her come home. She’s suffering so much in prison,’ Mark Candelaria told reporters at the Supreme Court.