The Philippine government announced plans to provide comprehensive reintegration assistance to Mary Jane Veloso following her release from prison under an absolute pardon granted by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., officials said.
Veloso, who spent years on Indonesia’s death row before her repatriation to Manila, walked free shortly after midnight Saturday. The Department of Migrant Workers said it dispatched a team to coordinate directly with her family in northern Nueva Ecija province to help the former domestic worker transition back into civilian life.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the agency’s directive is to stand alongside Veloso, her children, and her parents as they work to rebuild their lives, noting that officials will collaborate with local stakeholders to design a tailored support program.
The support package, developed jointly by the department and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, includes psychosocial counseling, livelihood starter kits, enterprise capital, and job-skills training. Agency officials said the initiative aims to connect Veloso to municipal economic programs and local cooperatives in Nueva Ecija to foster financial self-sufficiency.
At a news conference held Saturday at Siena College in Quezon City, an emotional Veloso expressed gratitude to Marcos for granting her clemency and spoke about her desire to rest, visit a local church, and spend quiet time sharing meals with her family.
Veloso also issued an appeal to her recruiters, urging them to publicly acknowledge the truth of her case so her name could be fully cleared. While expressing gratitude that her primary wish of reuniting with her family had been fulfilled, she emphasized that hearing an admission of her innocence from those responsible remains her final hope.
Veloso was arrested in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in 2010 after authorities discovered 2.6 kilograms of heroin hidden in the lining of her suitcase. She was sentenced to death that same year.
Throughout her trial and incarceration, Veloso maintained she was innocent, saying she had been duped into carrying the contraband by human traffickers who promised her employment. She was spared from a firing squad at the eleventh hour in 2015 after Manila requested a stay of execution so she could serve as a witness against her alleged recruiters.
Following prolonged bilateral negotiations, Indonesia agreed to a prisoner-transfer arrangement, and Veloso was repatriated in December 2024 to serve the remainder of her term at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City.
Marcos signed her grant of absolute pardon on Sept. 24, formally ending her legal ordeal and paving the way for her unconditional release.
