Philippine convicted drug smuggler on death row Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso (R) listens to court interpreter at a court in Sleman in central Java island during a hearing of judicial review on March 3, 2015 after a plea for clemency was rejected by Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Suryo Wibowo, AFP/FIle

MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday said it will seek full liberty for Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina drug convict in Indonesia, once her custody is transferred to the Philippines.

While no official schedule for her transfer has been set, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega said Veloso will likely be home before Christmas.

The location of her detention in the Philippines has not yet been finalized, as Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is currently out of the country and will not return until next week.

• Lawyer calls for Mary Jane Veloso repatriation before Christmas

“We certainly do not want the situation in the Philippines where Mary Jane Veloso will be serving sentence for the rest of her life. We certainly are not aiming for that, we’re aiming for her full liberty,” De Vega said in a telephone interview with ABS-CBN News.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced this week that Veloso will be handed over to Manila following years of “long and difficult” negotiations with Jakarta.

De Vega said Veloso is likely to be granted clemency.

“We achieved what we wanted: No execution; second, her actual transfer here. So, we’re getting there,” De Vega said. “By their own decision to be willing to transfer her, they know that one possible outcome would be for our president to issue clemency.”

The Nueva Ecija native has been incarcerated in Indonesia for over a decade on charges of heroin smuggling, an offense she has attributed to her recruiter.

She was scheduled for execution in 2015 but was spared at the last minute after an appeal from the Aquino administration.

“She was at the point of being executed if not for the last minute interventions of former President Benigno S. Aquino and former Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario. The two of them, may they rest in peace. They may be gone now, but their legacy lives because Mary Jane Veloso is alive,” De Vega said.

The official also said that the Philippine government plans to bring Veloso’s family to Jakarta for a visit soon, with the hope that she will be transferred by that time.

• Saved from death row, Mary Jane Veloso 'elated'

VELOSO IS A VICTIM, LAWYER REITERATES

Meanwhile, Veloso’s legal counsel, Edre Olalia, maintained that Veloso is innocent and a victim of human trafficking.

Olalia, chair of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), also emphasized that they no longer have a legal remedy to compel the Philippine government to grant clemency, as it is a political act.

However, he expressed confidence that Marcos would indeed grant it.

“Kung nasa kapangyarihan at kakayahan mo naman na magbigay ka ng regalo, bakit mo. titipirin? Bakit mo bibigyan siya ng regalo na hindi naman sapat at sukdulan?” Olalia said in telephone interview.

(If you have the power and ability to give a gift, why would you withhold it? Why would you give her a gift that is not enough or not the best?)

“Bakit mo pa bibigyan ng between 20 years and 1 day to 40 years kahit i-menos mo na ‘yong 14 years lalo na sabi ng Indonesia, ‘Rerespetuhin namin kung bibigyan mo siya ng kelemensiya’”

(Why give her a sentence of 20 years and 1 day to 40 years, even if you subtract the 14 years, especially when Indonesia has said, ‘We will respect it if you grant her clemency.’)

The lawyer also calls on the public to join the call for Veloso’s liberty.

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