Mary Jane Veloso’s kin happy with return to PH

The family of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina was sentenced to death for drug trafficking in Indonesia, on Wednesday welcomed the news of her possible return to the Philippines.

“Masayang masaya po kami. Kami po, buong pamilya, kaya maraming-maraming salamat po sa ating Pangulo,” Celia, Veloso’s mother, said on Balitanghali.

(We are very happy. Our whole family is very happy and we thank the President.)

Celia said Veloso’s children were overjoyed upon hearing the news. She said Veloso's eldest child is 21 years old while her youngest is 17 years old.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier announced that the government has reached an agreement with Indonesian authorities to bring Veloso back to the country.

Veloso’s parents said they last talked to her only the other day, and she was unaware of the news that she would soon return to the country.

They said they have also yet to talk with the President.

“Maraming maraming salamat po sa gobyerno natin. At saka sa lahat ng mga tumulong sa amin… mga migrante, mga taong simbahan, at sa buong mundo po, at sa mga media. Sa lahat ng tumulong, maraming maraming salamat sa inyong lahat,” Celia said.

(Thank you very much to the government and to everyone who helped us. To migrante, to the churches, and everyone else in the world, and the media. To everyone who helped us, thank you all so much.)

Veloso's camp, however, also appealed to Marcos to grant her clemency following an agreement that would allow her to return to the Philippines.

“Even as we continue to pray that Mary Jane will really step foot back in our homeland soon, we call on President Marcos Jr. to accord her immediate clemency on humanitarian grounds and as a matter of justice,” Edre Olalia, one of Veloso's legal counsel, said in a statement on X.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), meanwhile, expressed hope that Veloso may come home to the Philippines by Christmas.

The DFA also clarified that there is no written agreement yet between the Philippines and Indonesia regarding Veloso's repatriation.

"If you mean may written agreement, wala pa yung sagot. Pero sila mismo ang pumunta sa atin to talk about this, so we’re extremely confident it will happen," Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega told reporters in a press briefing in Malacañang.

(If you mean a written agreement, there's no answer so far. But they are the ones who approached us to talk about this, so we're extremely confident that it will happen.)

--Joahna Lei Casilao/ VAL, GMA Integrated News