The titleholder's winning answer focused on using each individual's strengths
world3 days ago
MANILA/JAKARTA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A Philippine woman spared execution in Indonesia on charges of drug trafficking in 2015 will return home after years of negotiations between the Southeast Asian neighbours, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Wednesday.
Mary Jane Veloso, a domestic helper and mother of two, was arrested in the city of Yogyakarta, for carrying 2.6 kg (5.73 pounds) of heroin concealed in a suitcase in 2010.
"Eventually, the goal is not just for her to be transferred, but for our president to ... issue clemency," foreign ministry official Eduardo Jose de Vega told a news conference in Manila, the capital.
Indonesia has not sought anything in return for Veloso's transfer, the timing of which has yet to be decided, he added.
Veloso will be transferred in December, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Indonesia's chief minister for law and human rights, said in a statement.
Veloso was spared from the firing squad at the last minute in 2015, after Philippine officials asked Joko Widodo, then Indonesia's president, to let her testify against members of a human- and drug-smuggling ring.
The execution of eight other drug convicts went ahead, with Veloso's reprieve described as a postponement by Widodo, whose presidential term ended last month.
People in the Philippines had held protest vigils and celebrated masses in demonstrations against her execution.
"After over a decade of diplomacy and consultations with the Indonesian government, we managed to delay her execution long enough to reach an agreement to finally bring her back to the Philippines," Marcos said in a statement.
He hailed the neighbours' shared commitment to justice and compassion, and thanked Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
Prabowo's office said Veloso would serve the rest of her sentence in the Philippines, citing diplomacy and reciprocal partnership in law enforcement as the reason for her transfer.
"We are happy that Mary Jane will be back home," her mother, Celia Veloso, told radio station DWPM, though adding that the family still worried that international syndicates involved in the case would harm Veloso and their relatives.
Veloso had always maintained her innocence, saying she was an unwitting drug mule for a Philippine employment recruiter. Previously a domestic worker in Dubai, she left to escape an abusive employer, her legal team had said.
Court records say the recruiter asked Veloso to fly to the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta from Manila to hand a suitcase to a man. She was arrested after authorities there discovered heroin wrapped in foil hidden in the lining of her luggage.
Indonesia has harsh anti-narcotics laws and has executed several foreign nationals, including two Australians, who were leaders of the Bali Nine trafficking ring, in 2015.
The titleholder's winning answer focused on using each individual's strengths
world3 days ago
The suspects would be interrogated jointly with the Shin Bet internal security agency, police said
world3 days ago
The attack took place at the Wuxi Vocational Institute of Arts and Technology in Jiangsu province
world3 days ago
More than 650,000 people have fled their homes ahead of the super typhoon, which is expected to make landfall late Saturday or early Sunday
world4 days ago
The New York Times reported on Friday that Musk, who is a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, met earlier this week with Iran's ambassador to the UN
world4 days ago
The tremor occurred at 9.28am UAE time, according to the National Seismic Network
world5 days ago
Ceremonial gunfire rang out across the British capital to mark the occasion
world5 days ago
The pair became embroiled in an extraordinary war of words during Trump's first presidency
world5 days ago