Will Mary Jane get presidential pardon?

Palace mum; BBM says Phl celebrating

- By HELEN FLORES

Malacañang remained mum yesterday on calls to grant a presidential pardon to Filipino death row convict Mary Jane Veloso, saying only that her return to the country was President Marcos' top priority.

Veloso arrives in Manila today, 14 years after being arrested and imprisoned in Indonesia for drug trafficking.

"We are celebrating already," Marcos told reporters yesterday.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin declined to talk about the possibility of the President granting pardon to the 39-year-old mother of two.

"Nothing to say yet on what may happen. The priority of PBBM (President Bongbong Marcos) is to have Veloso repatriated without delay," Bersamin told reporters in a text message.

Speaking to reporters at Malacañang yesterday afternoon, Bersamin said it is premature to discuss the granting of clemency.

"It's premature, I have yet to see the documents. So I cannot address that," Bersamin said when asked if the Indonesian government requested for a period of time to serve her sentence before Marcos grants her clemency.

Asked whether the President would meet Veloso, Bersamin said, “We do not know. Because she must first arrive here before we can make a move.”

Veloso’s homecoming was made possible by the adoption of the Indonesian government of its new policy allowing the transfer of custody over foreign prisoners to their countries of nationality.

On Dec. 6, the Philippines and Indonesia signed an agreement on the transfer of Veloso back to the Philippines, where she will serve the remainder of her sentence.

Veloso was arrested in Yogyakarta in 2010 after authorities discovered over 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her suitcase.

She was nearly executed by firing squad in 2015, but got a dramatic eleventh-hour reprieve after then president Benigno Aquino III appealed to the Indonesian government, arguing she could be a vital witness in prosecuting drug syndicates.