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DOJ: Other PDLs to be looked into if Marcos pardons Mary Jane

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Rowegie Abanto

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1734493146369470240964_1044933824348540_2101672212010735686_n.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false" style="text-align:left">Mary Jane Veloso is finally home. <em>Photo courtesy of BuCor PIO</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Other persons deprived of liberty will be looked into if President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. decides to pardon Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina drug trafficking convict who returned home to the Philippines early Wednesday after nearly 15 years of imprisonment in Indonesia, an official said the same day.</p><p>Veloso, who was previously on death row in Jakarta, will now serve the remainder of her life sentence in Manila following a prisoner transfer agreement between the two countries that was finalized early this month.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_4L5jx8OeVY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/12/17/mary-jane-veloso-arrives-in-ph-after-14-year-imprisonment-in-indonesia-0601">Mary Jane Veloso arrives in PH after 14-year imprisonment in Indonesia</a></div><p>Veloso will undergo a mandatory 5-day quarantine at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) and will be staying at the Reception and Diagnostic Center for 60 days. After this, she will be transferred to a regular cell.</p><p>But a presidential pardon is one of the potential paths to her early release.</p><p>Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez said at a press conference at the CIW in Mandaluyong that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would &quot;definitely&quot; check the &quot;equally sad&quot; cases of other PDLs in the country should he consider pardoning Veloso.</p><p>&quot;Kung magbibigay man ng executive clemency ang ating Pangulo definitely titingnan niya rin &#x27;yung mga iba, hindi siya masi-single out,&quot; he said. &quot;Marami ring PDLs who are equally entitled [to clemency].&quot;</p><p>Groups and several lawmakers are urging Marcos to pardon Veloso, saying that the Filipina <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/12/11/gabriela-party-list-urges-marcos-to-grant-clemency-to-mary-jane-veloso-1246">was a victim of human trafficking</a>.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/12/11/gabriela-party-list-urges-marcos-to-grant-clemency-to-mary-jane-veloso-1246">House resolution seeks Marcos clemency for Mary Jane Veloso</a></div><p>Bureau of Corrections Director General Gregorio Catapang said Veloso can also be freed early through the GCTA law, which allows a sentence reduction for prisoners who show good behavior.</p><p>Catapang said the BuCor would form a board to study how the law could be applied to Veloso&#x27;s case. He said Veloso&#x27;s documents were all written in Bahasa Indonesia and would still first be translated.</p><p>Veloso had called her transfer a &quot;miracle&quot; as she was supposed to be executed in 2015, but was spared as the recruiters who allegedly stashed the illegal drugs in her luggage were arrested moments before she was killed via a firing squad.</p><p>Veloso&#x27;s family hopes Marcos will pardon her.</p><div><strong>— with a report from Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EfjMTdU8d5s?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HSTSDL8PCr0?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div>

<p>Mary Jane Veloso, who was previously on death row in Jakarta, will now serve the remainder of her life sentence in Manila. A presidential pardon is one potential path to her early release.</p>

Mary Jane Veloso, who was previously on death row in Jakarta, will now serve the remainder of her life sentence in Manila. A presidential pardon is one potential path to her early release.

DOJ: Other PDLs to be looked into if Marcos pardons Mary Jane Veloso

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DOJ: Other PDLs to be looked into if Marcos pardons Mary Jane Veloso

Rowegie Abanto

Published Dec 18, 2024 11:56 AM PHT

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Updated Dec 18, 2024 12:56 PM PHT

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