Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte flew to Indonesia last Friday, September 9, 2016 to discuss various matters with Indonesian president Joko Widodo and tackled the case of a convicted Filipina drug mule named Mary Jane Veloso.
Duterte kept mum about the details of
Veloso's case who still remains on death row after being imprisoned in Indonesia. She was saved by
then-president Benigno Aquino III's appeal from her death by firing squad in May of 2015 in a last-minute reprieve.
The governments of both countries are under no urgency to act upon Veloso's case according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. who said
"This is not an urgent issue as of now, let’s finish the process. Her scheduled execution has been deferred because she would be testifying in the deposition case against her illegal recruiter.
After prosecuting the illegal recruiter who are the main principals here and if it turns out in the trial in the Philippines that Mary Jane is a victim then at the point we can ask for clemency soon,"
Duterte said that Veloso's case is
"not for public consumption," after his discussion with Widodo ended. When asked about having talks about the anti-drug operations with Widodo, Duterte stated
"No, I said that we will continue to respect each other’s judicial processes. The rule of law is what matters, gives order to the community."
Veloso was caught possesing
2.5 kg of cocaine in her bag at the
Indonesian airport last 2010. Yasay and the
government are positive and hoping that her case may be
resolved next year.
