The Department of Migrant Workers on Saturday visited the family of Mary Jane Veloso in Nueva Ecija and provided assistance ahead of her return in the country.
According to a report by Vonne Aquino, financial assistance, food and scholarship were among the aid provided by DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac to Veloso’s family.
Cacdac said they assured continuous compensation to Veloso’s family, as directed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Veloso was nabbed at an airport in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in April 2010 for carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin. She was sentenced to death by firing squad in October of that year.
In 2015, Veloso’s execution was postponed at the last minute after a woman suspected of recruiting her for drug-related activities was arrested in the Philippines.
Marcos earlier in the week announced that the Philippine government has reached an agreement with Indonesian authorities to bring Veloso back to the country, and was confirmed by Jakarta.
Veloso’s lawyers, upon learning of the development, have appealed to Marcos to grant her clemency.
In a short statement sent to Palace reporters, the Department of Justice said that when Veloso is transferred to the Philippines, ”the effective result is that her sentence becomes simply life imprisonment since there is no death penalty in the Philippines.”
There had been calls to restore the death penalty in the Philippines but the proposals of some lawmakers had been languishing.
Veloso’s parents, Cesar and Celia, called on the Philippine government for her to be transferred to a safe local facility amid concerns over threats coming from the international drug syndicate that implicated her.
—Jamil Santos/ VAL, GMA Integrated News
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