[UPDATED] Progressive groups urged Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to swiftly grant clemency to Mary Jane Veloso after the president announced the human trafficking victim is coming home after nearly a decade and a half in an Indonesian death row.

In a statement Wednesday, Marcos said the Philippines is looking forward to welcoming Veloso back as he expressed gratitude to Indonesia for agreeing to transfer the human trafficking victim to her home country.

“I extend my heartfelt gratitude to President Prabowo Subianto and the Indonesian government for their goodwill. This outcome is a reflection of the depth our nation’s partnership with Indonesia—united in a shared commitment to justice and compassion,” Marcos’ statement reads.

The statement did not specify the date of Veloso’s repatriation, however.

Arrested and convicted in 2010 on drug trafficking charges and originally scheduled for execution in 2015, Veloso’s case is among the most difficult campaign for both the Philippine government as well as migrants’ organizations and human rights lawyers.

“Mary Jane’s story resonates with many: a mother trapped by the grip of poverty, who made one desperate choice that altered the course of her life,” Marcos said, adding Veloso was a victim of her circumstances,” Marcos said.

Veloso’s recruiters Ma. Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao had been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Nueva Ecija court in January 2020 on illegal recruitment charges filed by three other victims.

Bayan Muna meanwhile immediately urged Marcos to extend a presidential pardon or commutation of sentence to Veloso and to ensure her safety and that of her loved ones from threats by the syndicates who exploited her as a drug mule in Indonesia.

“Mary Jane Veloso has suffered immensely for over a decade, a victim of a cruel system that exploits the vulnerable. It is high time for justice and compassion to prevail,” former Bayan Muna Rep. Atty. Carlos Zarate said.

Assistant Minority Leader and Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas also welcomed Veloso’s impending return, calling it a “hard-won victory” of the persistent campaign of her family, women’s rights advocates and migrant groups.

“Tagumpay ng mamamayang Pilipino ang napipintong pagbabalik ni Mary Jane. For 14 years, we have asserted that Mary Jane is a victim, not a criminal. She is a victim of human trafficking and the government’s labor export policy that continues to push Filipino women to work abroad despite the risks,” Brosas said.

Migrante International (MI) earlier urged Marcos to grant Veloso presidential clemency on humanitarian grounds and the absence of a death penalty in the Philippines once the convicted drug mule is transferred to the country.

“Her plight is emblematic of the exploitation and suffering of countless Filipino migrant workers, who everyday become victims of human trafficking as a result of the labor export program of the Marcos Jr. administration,” MI said.

National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers chairperson Atty. Edre Olalia, one of Veloso’s defense counsels, said they appreciate the Indonesian government’s “exemplary act of goodwill.”

“Needless to state we, as private lawyers of Mary Jane and her family who steadfastly stood by her since we learned that she was going to the gallows in April 2015, are exultant to be informed that she will finally be coming home soon,” Olalia said in a statement.

“We thank even this early the migrant and church groups and others both in the Philippines and Indonesia and  all others who have not lost faith and who hoped that one day she will be home somehow,” the lawyer added.

House Deputy Minority leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro  today called for the immediate prosecution of Mary Jane Veloso’s recruiters and emphasized the need for stronger protections for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) against human trafficking syndicates.

“While we welcome Mary Jane’s impending return, hindi pa tapos ang laban. The real perpetrators who victimized her must be brought to justice. Dapat managot ang mga taong nagsamantala at nambiktima sa kanya na maging drug mule,” Castro said.

“We invite all Filipinos and supporters of the Free Mary Jane Campaign to join us in organizing protest actions, marches, petition drives, letter barrages and other actions calling on President Marcos Jr. to [grant] clemency for Mary Jane,” MI said.

As of September 2024, there were 49 OFWs on death row in countries like Malaysia , Brunei, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Jeddah. The most number of OFWs on death row were in Malaysia at 41, two were in Brunei, and one was in Saudi Arabia.# (Raymund B. Villanueva)