Mary Jane Veloso eyeing clemency, says she's not guilty

Detained in Indonesia for 14 years, convict Mary Jane Veloso is hoping that she can go home to her family and that she will be given clemency in the Philippines.

In an interview at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Veloso said she was grateful that she would be returning to the Philippines.

“Nagpapasalamat ako kasi makakauwi na (ako) sa Pilipinas, pero I hope makauwi sa pamilya ko,” Veloso said.  

(I am grateful because I can go home to the Philippines, but I hope to go home to my family.)

 “Gusto ko na makalaya ako… Clemency... mapawalang sala. Kasi wala akong kasalanan,” she added. 

(I want to be freed... Clemency... be found found without guilt. I am innocent.)

Veloso is set to leave Indonesia at midnight and arrive in the Philippines on Wednesday morning.

A press conference by Indonesian authorities about her repatriation was held Tuesday night at the Jakarta airport.

Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega thanked Filipino and Indonesian officials who worked for Veloso's return.

"The transfer of Mary Jane to the Philippines is a win," De Vega said. 

Veloso was sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking. She was caught with 2.6 kilos of heroin in 2010.

In 2015, then-Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Indonesia gave Veloso a "temporary reprieve" from her scheduled execution.

In January, Veloso's family sent letters to Widodo and Marcos to appeal her clemency.

Last November, Marcos said  Manila and Jakarta reached an agreement to transfer Veloso to the Philippines, thanking new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and his government for their goodwill. 

Veloso's parents, Cesar and Celia, had asked to the Philippine government for her to be transferred to a safe local facility due to concerns over threats coming from the international drug syndicate that implicated her. 

Malacañang said Veloso's homecoming to her homeland is "the fruit of more than a decade of persistent discussions, consultations and diplomacy."  —NB, GMA Integrated News