An international organization of lawyers has urged President Marcos to grant absolute pardon to Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina overseas worker who had served more than 14 years of imprisonment on illegal drugs conviction in Indonesia.

Veloso, who was sentenced to death by firing squad by an Indonesian court, has been repatriated to the Philippines to continue serving her sentence. 

There was no condition set by Indonesia on Veloso's transfer, the Department of Justice (DOJ) had earlier said.  She is now confined at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City. She has reiterated her plea for the President to grant her executive clemency.

“We implore the Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to free Mary Jane Veloso, by way of absolute pardon on compassionate grounds, in this, the Season of Peace,” said the Belgium-based International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL).

The IADL said that "Mary Jane Veloso, a victim of trafficking, has suffered long enough and the grant of clemency is primarily a presidential prerogative which may be given purely on a humanitarian basis, without the need of a lengthy administrative and legal review by experts.”

“Justice delayed is justice denied,” the group warned.

It said it had followed closely her case and pointed out that Veloso “exemplifies the vulnerabilities of migrant workers, particularly impoverished women, who, in their pursuit of better opportunities, for lack of any decent work at home, become targets of exploitation." 

“With her return to the Philippines, Ms. Veloso now has the opportunity to testify against the traffickers who orchestrated her exploitation, thereby aiding in her pursuit of genuine justice,” it also said.

On the other, the IADL said “Ms. Veloso’s repatriation should also set a precedent for the Philippine government in proactively addressing the cases of the 59 other Filipinos on death row worldwide.”

“We also urge host governments holding the prisoners, to follow the Indonesian example and facilitate their repatriation to their home state,” it added.  

In its backgrounder on Veloso's case, the IADL said that "she was deceived by a syndicate and coerced into unknowingly transporting illegal substances to Indonesia, leading to her arrest in 2010." 

“She was sentenced to die by firing squad in 2015 but was granted a temporary reprieve prompted by overwhelming calls and a global campaign to give her an opportunity to tell her story,” it added.