Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina inmate arrested in Indonesia for carrying cocaine, will arrive in Manila on Wednesday, Dec. 18, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed.
“Mary Jane Veloso is arriving on 18 Dec at 6 a.m. Manila time. Her ETD (estimated time of departure) in Jakarta is 12:50 am. This is confirmed,” DFA Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs Ma. Theresa Lazaro said on Monday, Dec. 16.
A GMA News report also said that Philippine officials, led by DFA Migrant Workers Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega, arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday morning after leaving Manila around 9:15 p.m. on Monday and arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport past midnight.
The DFA official was expected to head to the Philippine Embassy to finalize Veloso’s papers.
On Monday night, Malacañang assured that the Philippines will honor conditions for her return.
“With much appreciation and gratefulness to the Republic of Indonesia, we confirm the imminent return of our kababayan, Mary Jane Veloso,” Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said in a statement.
“Duty-bound as we are to honor the conditions for her transfer to Philippine jurisdiction, we are truly elated to welcome Mary Jane back to her homeland and family, from whom she has been distanced for too long,” he added.
Although the statement made no mention of such conditions, reports said these include the Philippines agreeing to respect the Indonesian court's sentencing of Veloso and her status as prisoner in Indonesia and her ban from returning to Indonesia.
The Philippines must also consider the repatriation of an Indonesian citizen if Indonesia one day asks for the favor.
The Palace also lauded the decade’s worth of efforts to bring Veloso home.
In the GMA News report, Veloso’s lawyer Edre Olalia, expressed hope that her family would be able to see her at the airport.
De Vega, however, said that Philippine officials are in touch with Veloso’s family and the meeting would be up to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Last month, Indonesia agreed to repatriate Veloso, a domestic helper and mother of two who was arrested in Yogyakarta in 2010 for carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin concealed in a suitcase.
She was sentenced to death but was spared in 2015 in a last-minute plea to then-Indonesian President Joko Widodo to allow her to testify against a human and drug-smuggling syndicate in Manila.
Earlier, DOJ Undersecretary Raul Vasquez said that any clemency that would possibly be given to Veloso would be up to President Marcos, but Bersamin shared on Tuesday, Dec. 17, that the priority is to bring her home.
“Nothing to say yet on what may happen. The priority of PBBM is to have Veloso repatriated without delay,” he added.