Mary Jane Veloso reunites with her family after arriving at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong on December 18, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Mary Jane Veloso reunites with her family after arriving at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong on December 18, 2024. 
Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Mary Jane Veloso -CIW

Jonathan Frederic De Santos

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/173486945552820241218-mary-jane-veloso-family-MT679.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Mary Jane Veloso reunites with her family after arriving at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong on December 18, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Mary Jane Veloso reunites with her family after arriving at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong on December 18, 2024. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Mary Jane Veloso, the Overseas Filipino Worker who had been tried, convicted and imprisoned in Indonesia for nearly 15 years, had not been back in the Philippines a week before comments popped up online questioning the supposed hero’s welcome she received in Manila.</p><p>Veloso, over whose custody Indonesia had transferred to the Philippine government, had been escorted from Jakarta and brought to the Correctional Institute of Women in Mandaluyong City.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/12/18/timeline-mary-jane-veloso-s-decade-long-ordeal-from-indonesian-death-row-to-miracle-homecoming-1327">TIMELINE: Mary Jane Veloso&#x27;s decade-long ordeal from Indonesian death row to &#x27;miracle&#x27; homecoming</a></div><p>“How is Mary Jane Veloso a hero? She’s a drug mule and at best, a victim” and similar comments soon popped up — many made by users under pseudonyms — on X and and on Facebook amid media coverage of her repatriation and of calls for her freedom through executive clemency.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_sKi66COxYo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><strong></strong></div><div><strong>&#x27;OFWS WHO FIGHT FOR THEIR RIGHTS ARE HEROES&#x27;</strong></div><p>But for groups like Migrante International, Veloso not only deserves freedom — Mary Jane has held that drugs found in her baggage in 2010 were not hers — but recognition as well.  </p><p>&quot;Our OFWs who defend their rights in the midst of discrimination, injustice, [and] exploitation deserve to be called heroes,&quot; Migrante International chairperson Joanna Concepcion told ABS-CBN News in a text message exchange.</p><p>Concepcion pointed out how, for 14 years, Veloso has insisted on her innocence, even in the face of death sentence that was stayed in 2015 after an appeal from then President Benigno Aquino III amid a broad public campaign opposing her execution and the arrest of her alleged illegal recruiters who have since been <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/01/30/20/mary-jane-velosos-recruiters-convicted-of-large-scale-illegal-recruitment">convicted in a separate large-scale illegal recruitment case</a>.</p><p>“Kahit marami ang nag-akala na bahagi siya ng drug syndicate, hindi siya nagpatinag,” Concepcion said.</p><p>(Even when many assumed she was part of a drug syndicate, she did not waver.)</p><p>She added that the campaign for Veloso &quot;has brought our nation together, mobilizing people from all walks of life, and has also brought Indonesian migrant and Filipino migrant workers together in solidarity.&quot;</p><p>The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, which has been assisting Veloso since before the reprieve, called her repatriation “a testament to the strength of the people&#x27;s collective will and the relentless pursuit of justice.” </p><p>NUPL said the homecoming is “a reminder that the struggle for human dignity is never in vain, and that no one is ever truly alone when the people stand united.”</p><p>In a press release on December 18, the day that Veloso landed in Manila, Migrante International called her “a living hero to countless other migrants in the greater fight to end human trafficking.”</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/11/13/protection-for-ofws-tackled-in-dmw-budget-deliberation-at-senate-936">RELATED: Protection for OFWs tackled in DMW budget deliberation at Senate</a></div><div><strong>&#x27;MORE MARY JANES ABROAD&#x27;</strong></div><p>At the very least, Veloso&#x27;s case and her arrival in the Philippines has prompted calls from lawmakers for better support for OFWs in similar situations and to, according to Senate President Francis &quot;Chiz&quot; Escudero, &quot;<a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/12/18/senators-call-on-dfa-dmw-to-help-bring-more-detained-ofws-home-1311">make them feel ‘the long arm of government’ </a>to protect and shield them whenever they need help.&quot;</p><p>In its statement, Migrante International called on the Philippine government to “acknowledge Mary Jane as a victim, not a criminal.”</p><p>Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas meanwhile said Veloso is also a victim &quot;of the government&#x27;s labor export policy that continues to push our women to work abroad despite the risks.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/12/18/in-photos-mary-jane-veloso-back-in-ph-reunites-with-family-1332">IN PHOTOS: Mary Jane Veloso back in PH, reunites with family</a></div><p>Thousands of Filipinos leave the Philippines every day for employment and other opportunities abroad to help their families deal with low wages and high prices back home.</p><p>According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, as of September 2023, an estimated 2.16 million Filipinos were working abroad.</p><p>They contributed to the <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2024/12/16/cash-remittances-up-2-7-pct-in-october-1507">$3.08 billion remittances to the Philippines</a> between January and October of this year and have been framed for decades as &quot;bagong bayani&quot; or modern day heroes for their help to the economy.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/12/21/groups-continue-petition-for-clemency-for-mary-jane-veloso-1651">Groups continue petition for clemency for Mary Jane Veloso</a></div><div><strong>FREEDOM SOON?</strong></div><p>As things stand, the Marcos Jr. administration and its allies have called Veloso&#x27;s repatriation good news and proof of the government&#x27;s compassion for Filipinos abroad.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/12/19/-malayo-pa-tayo-roon-marcos-leaves-mary-jane-veloso-clemency-up-to-legal-experts-1059">&#x27;Malayo pa tayo roon&#x27;: Marcos leaves Mary Jane Veloso clemency up to legal experts</a></div><p>The Board of Probation and Parole has been tasked with reviewing Veloso&#x27;s case but President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has also said that talk of freeing her, possibly through the grant of clemency, are &quot;still at the very preliminary stage.&quot;</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZkR9r9h32g4?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><p>In a statement Sunday, lawyer Romulo Macalintal said clemency might not be an option since Veloso was not charged and convicted in a Philippine court and that a 2010 Department of Justice circular on prisoner transfers holds that only the sentencing state &quot;may grant pardon, amnesty or commutation of the sentence.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/11/23/dfa-says-it-will-seek-full-liberty-for-mary-jane-veloso-once-transferred-to-ph-1314">DFA says it will seek full liberty for Mary Jane Veloso once transferred to PH</a></div><p>He said that while the government figures out how to handle her case, Veloso should be released &quot;since she is not facing any charges here in the Philippines and ... not even a warrant of arrest has been issued against her by any court in the Philippines.&quot;</p><p>In the meantime, and <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/12/22/comelec-disputed-party-nomination-no-reason-to-disqualify-quiboloy-1324">while also campaigning for her release</a>, the Velosos are looking forward to spending Christmas with Mary Jane.</p><p>&quot;Nakiusap po ang attorney namin at ng Migrante [International]. <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/12/17/mary-jane-veloso-s-mom-says-they-are-allowed-to-spend-christmas-together-0020">Makakasama po namin sa Pasko, kami pong buong pamilya pupunta po doon, maghapon daw po namin makakasama</a>,&quot; Mary Jane&#x27;s mother Celia said on December 18.</p><p>(Our lawyer and Migrante made an appeal. Our entire family will be with her on Christmas Day. We will be together all afternoon.)</p><p>Even as social media users debate on whether Veloso should be seen as a hero, Celia shared a more universal sentiment as she waited for her daughter to come home for Christmas:</p><p>&quot;Miss na miss ko po ang anak ko... ngayong ito na at uuwi na, parang ang tagal-tagal at inip na inip na po ako talaga.&quot;</p><p>(I miss my daughter so much...now that she is coming home, it&#x27;s like it is taking so long. I can hardly wait.)<strong> — from reports by Kevin Alabaso, Benise Balaoing, Willard Cheng, RG Cruz, Paige Javier, Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News</strong></p>

<p>Veloso, over whose custody Indonesia had transferred to the Philippine government, had been escorted from Jakarta and brought to the Correctional Institute of Women in Mandaluyong City.</p>

Veloso, over whose custody Indonesia had transferred to the Philippine government, had been escorted from Jakarta and brought to the Correctional Institute of Women in Mandaluyong City.

WRAP: Why a migrant workers' group considers Mary Jane Veloso a hero | ABS-CBN

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WRAP: Why a migrant workers' group considers Mary Jane Veloso a hero

WRAP: Why a migrant workers' group considers Mary Jane Veloso a hero

Jonathan de Santos,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 22, 2024 08:17 PM PHT

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Updated Dec 22, 2024 08:52 PM PHT

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Mary Jane Veloso

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