She reunited with her family upon her arrival.
Filipina detainee Mary Jane Veloso was officially handed over to the Philippines by Indonesian authorities on Tuesday, December 17 in Jakarta.
She was then brought by Filipino officials from the Department of Affairs (DFA), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Bureau of Immigration (BI), and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to Manila via a commercial flight that landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3, early Wednesday morning.
After which, she was escorted to the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City, where she saw her family for the first time since making her journey back home.
She was greeted by her sons, who gave her bouquet of flowers, and her parents.
Veloso will undergo the mandatory five-day quarantine, and in about two months time, she will be transferred to a regular cell after the 55-day orientation and diagnostic evaluation.
PBBM STATEMENT
In his statement, President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. extended his gratitude to the Indonesian government for the welfare of Mary Jane Veloso.
“We assure the Filipino people that Ms. Veloso’s safety and welfare is paramount and our agencies in the justice and law enforcement sector shall continue to ensure it, as our Indonesian counterparts have safeguarded it for so long,” Marcos said.
He continued, “[the] Philippine government welcomes the imminent transfer of Ms. Veloso which was made possible by our strong friendship and cooperation with the Indonesian government.”
HER CASE
Then 25-year-old Mary Jane Veloso was arrested after she was caught bringing in 2.6 kilograms-worth of illegal drugs, which was wrapped in aluminum foil inside the lining of a suitcase, to Indonesia upon her arrival at Yogyakarta’s airport.
It was later revealed that Veloso had received the suitcase from a person named “Christine” in Kuala Lumpur, where she was also given $500.
In 2014, Veloso was revealed to have been placed on death row after former Indonesian President Joko Widodo , with an execution having been scheduled back in April 2015.
Then-President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino made an unprecedented move when he bypassed protocols to personally contact Indonesian officials.
Aquino requested making Mary Jane Veloso a witness after the one of her recruiters, Maria Kristina Sergio, surrendered to the Philippine police and multiple cases have since been filed against the personality — human trafficking, illegal recruitment, and estafa.
The reprieve was granted, with former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Cabinet Secretary Rene Almemdras breaking the news that Veloso’s life was spared an hour after her supposed execution.