MANILA: Palace Press Officer Claire Castro has confirmed that the Office of the President (OP) is “seriously considering” granting an absolute pardon to Mary Jane Veloso based on humanitarian grounds.
In a Palace briefing, Castro said the timeline and other details remain undisclosed.
This confirmation comes after Bataan Rep. Albert Garcia said on Wednesday (Sept 23) that the OP is thinking of granting an absolute pardon to Veloso, who has been detained for over a decade for alleged drug trafficking.
Veloso, a former overseas Filipino worker, was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to death in Indonesia in 2010. She spent nearly 15 years in Indonesian custody before being repatriated to the Philippines in December 2024 following an agreement between Manila and Jakarta.
She is currently detained at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong.
“The Office of the President is seriously considering to grant absolute pardon to Mary Jane Veloso on humanitarian grounds in support of the government’s commitment to protecting Filipino migrant workers,” Garcia had said.
He made the statement during the House sponsorship and plenary deliberations for the proposed budget of the OP for next year. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
