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Mother of Mary Jane Veloso begs Indonesia president to free her

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Agence France-Presse

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2925647" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>MANILA (UPDATED) — The mother of a Filipino drug trafficker on death row in Indonesia begged the country&#x27;s president to free her daughter on Wednesday.The plea came a day after the Philippines made a fresh appeal for clemency for Mary Jane Veloso, who was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms of heroin and later sentenced to death.The mother-of-two won a last-minute reprieve from the firing squad in 2015 after a woman suspected of recruiting her was arrested in the Philippines.Family and supporters of Veloso held a small protest near the presidential palace in Manila on Wednesday as Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos met with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo.A letter written by Veloso&#x27;s mother, Celia, and addressed to Widodo was hand-delivered to the palace by a lawyer representing the family.&quot;I am begging and pleading you to help free my daughter who has been suffering innocently for fourteen years,&quot; Celia Veloso said in the letter seen by AFP.&quot;Today is the (39th) birthday of my daughter... I am hoping that she would be released.&quot;Veloso&#x27;s supporters claim she went to Indonesia for a job as a maid and was duped by an international drug syndicate into carrying heroin.A separate letter from the family and addressed to Marcos said: &quot;You are our only hope&quot;.Neither Marcos nor Widodo mentioned Veloso&#x27;s case in their prepared remarks delivered to the media after their meeting.It is not clear if she was discussed during their talks or if Widodo received the letter.Widodo is set to leave office in October after reaching the end of a two-term limit.<div>PH GOV&#x27;T EXHAUSTING ALL EFFORTS FOR VELOSO</div>In a separate statement, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said the government will &quot;continuously exhaust all efforts&quot; to assist Veloso and her family.She also said that Marcos expressed hope that the progression of Veloso&#x27;s call will merit her clemency.&quot;It was established during Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s official visit that the legal interrogatories required from the Philippine Regional Trial Court on the case of Mary Jane Veloso have been sent to Jakarta for Ms. Veloso to answer, as part of her testimony on the pending case that she filed against her illegal recruiters,&quot; Lazaro said.<div>&#x27;HINDI NA SIYA KATULAD NG DATI&#x27; </div>According to Mary Jane’s eldest son, Mark Daniel Candelaria, it seemed to him like his mom was losing hope that she would regain her freedom when they last visited her in December. “Tingin ko na hindi na po siya katulad ng dati,” the 21-year-old said. “Kasi po ‘yung mga kaibigan po niya, mga nagsilayaan na po. ‘Yung mga matataas na pulis po, mga retired na po. Kaya napanghihinaan na po siya kung makakauwi pa po siya… Masakit po na makita siyang ganoon pero palagi po niyang sinasabi sa ’kin dasal lang po.” “Ang hirap pong lumaki nang walang magulang po,” he added. Migrante International chairperson Joanna Concepcion called on the government to hasten the proceedings. Veloso has yet to give her testimony in the case against her recruiters even after the Supreme Court allowed it, Concepcion said. &quot;She remains on death row for the past 13 years. So kung may clemency na iga-grant, sana itulak ng ating Pangulo na wag siyang manatili ng ilang taon pa sa Indonesia,&quot; Concepcion said. On Tuesday, Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said he had renewed the appeal for clemency during a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi.Manalo previously sought clemency for Veloso in 2022.<div>© Agence France-Presse </div>

The mother of a Filipino drug trafficker on death row in Indonesia begged the country's president to free her daughter on Wednesday.