The Philippine government has expressed its
gratitude to Indonesian President Joko Widodo for delaying the execution of
convicted drug mule Mary Jane Veloso.
"The Philippine government thanks President
Widodo and the Indonesian government for giving due consideration to President
Aquino's appeal that Mary Jane Veloso be given a reprieve,” Communications
Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said in a statement.
"Such reprieve provides an opportunity for
the perpetuation of her testimony that could shed light on how a criminal
syndicate duped her into being an unwitting accomplice or courier in their
human and drug trafficking activities,” Secretary Coloma added.
The 30-year-old Veloso was among eight
foreigners scheduled to be executed by firing squad at midnight on Tuesday at
the Nusakambangan maximum security prison.
As a last-ditch effort to save the drug convict,
President Benigno S. Aquino III proposed to the Indonesian government that
Veloso be made a witness to identify the syndicate that used her to transport
illegal drugs to Indonesia.
The president’s proposal came on Tuesday (April
28) after Maria Cristina Sergio, the alleged recruiter who duped Veloso into
smuggling 2.6 kilos of heroin into Indonesia in April 2010, went to the police
in Nueva Ecija.
Reports said the Indonesian president held an
emergency meeting with his cabinet officials to discuss President Aquino’s
proposal.
Coloma also thanked the people for continuously
praying for Veloso, a mother of two.
"We also thank the Filipino people for
their prayers and for keeping vigil for Mary Jane's cause,” he said.
Sergio and her live-in partner Julius Lacanilao
are facing charges of illegal recruitment, human trafficking and estafa by
swindling, filed by the Department of Justice. (PCOO News Release)
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