ASEAN Beat | Society | Southeast Asia

Filipina Drug Trafficker Walks Free After Receiving Presidential Pardon

Mary Jane Veloso has always maintained her innocence, claiming that a relative tricked into carrying a large shipment of drugs.

A poster demanding the release of Mary Jane Veloso, as seen during a vigil in front of the Department of Justice in Manila, Philippines, July 10, 2015.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday granted a pardon ​to Mary Jane Veloso, who was serving a ‌prison sentence for drug trafficking in the Philippines after her arrest ​in Indonesia in 2010.

According to PhilStar Global, Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr., the director general of the Bureau of Corrections, “personally handed” Veloso a copy of the pardon and her official release, completing the procedures for her discharge. Earlier on Friday, Marcos confirmed to reporters that he had signed a pardon the day before, without elaborating.

Veloso, a 41-year-old domestic worker and mother of two, was arrested in Yogyakarta in 2010 for trying to bring 2.6 kilograms of heroin into Indonesia. She was subsequently sentenced to death under Indonesia’s severe drug laws, but received a last-minute reprieve from execution in 2015 after Philippine officials asked then Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to let her testify against members of a prominent drug trafficking organization.

In December 2024, Indonesia agreed to repatriate Veloso after years of requests from the Philippines, where Veloso’s relatives and supporters had waged a persistent campaign for her release.

Veloso has always maintained her innocence, claiming that she was tricked into carrying the drugs by her godsister. She smiled as she left her prison cell in the Philippines on Friday, after more than 15 years behind bars. In a press........

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