Maria Virginia Sy

Mary Jane Veloso had an emotional reunion with her two children and  siblings upon arriving at the Correctional Institution for Women in  Mandaluyong on December 18, 2024.

Filipino death row convict Mary Jane Veloso reunites with her family and relatives at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong on December 18, 2024. Courtesy of  BuCor PIO

Article (news)

Mary Jane Veloso reunites with family

ABS-CBN News

<div> </div>Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina who spent nearly 15 years on Indonesia&#x27;s death row, hugged her two children and siblings tightly in a tear-filled reunion on Wednesday upon her return to the country. Veloso, 39, was arrested and sentenced to death in 2010 after the suitcase she was carrying was found to be lined with 2.6 kilograms of heroin, in a case that sparked uproar in the Philippines. She landed in the Philippines at 5:50 a.m. and was taken to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong, where she had a brief reunion with her family. <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>Before her deportation, Veloso on Tuesday night called her family, who were then having dinner at the Migrante International Headquarters in Quezon City.&quot;Nabigla kami nung may tumatawag kay tatay at saka kay nanay... tumatawag from overseas tapos si Mary Jane pala. Iyakan talaga at hiyawan. Tuwang-tuwa yung mga kapatid,&quot; said Josie Pingkihan, Deputy Secretary General of Migrante International.“Sobrang saya po naming lahat, lahat po kami dito nakausap po siya, yun nga po umiiyak po na sobrang saya po, makakauwi na po siya. Sobrang saya po kasi po eh yun nga po mabubuo na po yung pamilya namin na ngayong Pasko po at bagong taon po,” said Mark Danielle Candelaria, Veloso&#x27;s eldest son.When asked if Veloso requested anything from her family, her son said, “May dala po kaming adobong baboy po mamaya po, yun po yung talagang request po ni mama.”The family hoped that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would grant clemency to Veloso.“Sana po kay Pangulong Bongbong Marcos po, sa government po natin sana po ibigay na po yung clemency na hinihingi po namin - pamilya Veloso po. Sa tagal din po ng panahon, 14 years po na wala naman pong kasalanan yung magulang ko,” Candelaria added.&quot;Yung pagpapanawagan pa rin for clemency para kay Mary Jane dahil hindi naman siya nagkasala at biktima siya ng human trafficking dito sa Pilipinas,&quot; said Pingkihan.Under the handover agreement, Veloso&#x27;s sentence now falls under the Philippines&#x27; purview, &quot;including the authority to grant clemency, remission, amnesty and similar measures&quot;.Indonesia&#x27;s government said it would respect any decision made by Manila.Veloso was due to face the firing squad in 2015, but the Philippine government won a last-minute reprieve after a woman suspected of recruiting her was arrested and put on trial for human trafficking and Veloso was named a prosecution witness.&quot;I bring a lot of things, such as guitar, books, knitting... even this T-shirt I&#x27;m wearing was given by my friends,&quot; she said on Tuesday when leaving a Jakarta prison for the airport.Muslim-majority Indonesia has some of the world&#x27;s toughest drug laws and has executed foreigners in the past.At least 530 people were on death row in the Southeast Asian nation, mostly for drug-related crimes, according to data from rights group KontraS, citing official figures.According to Indonesia&#x27;s Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, 96 foreigners were on death row, all on drug charges, as of early November.<div>-- With reports from Lyza Aquino, ABS-CBN News; Agence France-Presse </div>

Mary Jane Veloso had an emotional reunion with her two children and siblings upon arriving at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong on December 18, 2024.

Mary Jane Veloso had an emotional reunion with her two children and siblings upon arriving at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong on December 18, 2024.

'Mabubuo na yung pamilya namin': Tears, tight hugs as Mary Jane Veloso reunites with family

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'Mabubuo na yung pamilya namin': Tears, tight hugs as Mary Jane Veloso reunites with family

ABS-CBN News

Published December 18, 2024 10:03 AM PHT

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Updated December 18, 2024 04:38 PM PHT

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