MANILA, Philippines – After nearly 15 years behind bars in Indonesia, Filipino national Mary Jane Veloso returned home to the Philippines on Wednesday morning, greeted by tearful embraces from her family and government officials who vowed to grant her clemency.
Veloso, 42, arrived at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport around 5:51 a.m. on a Cebu Pacific flight from Jakarta, marking the end of a harrowing chapter that began when she was arrested at an Indonesian airport in 2010 for drug trafficking.
The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said Veloso’s flight departed from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 12:05 a.m., and that she was not restrained during the journey in accordance with international standards for the humane treatment of prisoners.
Upon landing, Veloso was immediately transported to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, where she will undergo a 5-day quarantine and 55-day orientation, diagnostic evaluation and security classification before being allowed visitors.
“Her almost 15 years in prison is enough, since she’s innocent – she was just a victim,” said Veloso’s mother, Celia, through tears as she appealed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to grant her daughter clemency and a pardon.
Veloso, a single mother of two, was arrested in 2010 at an Indonesian airport with 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her suitcase. She maintained that she was an unwitting drug mule, tricked by a recruiter into carrying the narcotics.
Her case drew international attention and condemnation, with the Philippine government repeatedly appealing to Indonesia to spare her life. In a last-minute reprieve in 2015, Indonesia agreed to delay her execution after her recruiters surrendered to authorities.
BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said Veloso’s return was the result of collaborative efforts by various government agencies under Marcos’ leadership. He assured Veloso’s family that they would be able to visit her in time for Christmas, after her initial quarantine and evaluation period.
For Veloso, the long-awaited homecoming marks the beginning of her reintegration into Filipino society, after enduring nearly a decade and a half behind bars in a foreign country. As she embarks on this next chapter, her supporters hope that justice and mercy will finally be served.