THE appeal for convicted Filipina drug trafficker Mary Jane Veloso to be spared from the death penalty appears to have dimmed, as she was taken out of the Wirogunan Prison in Yogyakarta and taken to the prison island of Nusakambangan on Friday morning.
Vice President Jejomar C. Binay reiterated his appeal for prayers for Veloso, after learning of her sudden transfer.
“I urge everyone to include Mary Jane and her family in their prayers. Let us pray that the Indonesian government will heed our appeal for the commutation of Mary Jane’s sentence,” Binay said.
Nusakambangan is an island prison for high-profile prisoners, and sometimes known as Execution Island.
An armored car leading a convoy of vehicles, believed to be carrying Veloso, was seen leaving her prison. She is among foreign drug convicts who are facing imminent execution, despite the appeal of the Philippine government and international bodies for clemency.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a text message that the Indonesian government has ordered all prisoners up for execution, with or without pending appeal, to be transferred to the island, including Veloso.
“Lawyers and embassy were not notified in advance of the transfer,” the DFA said, adding that the media would be informed of developments as they happen.
In a letter he gave to Vice President Jusuf Kalla at the sidelines of their bilateral meeting in Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon, Binay sought the compassion of his Indonesia counterpart to spare the life of Veloso and commute her death sentence.
“I most respectfully appeal for your humanitarian consideration on the case of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipino national sentenced to death in Yogyakarta in 2010. She comes from a humble background and attained only a basic education. She is also a single mother of two sons,” he said.
“She became the target of a neighbor by the name of Maria Cristina Sergio, who offered her work as a household worker in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mary Jane happily accepted, as her only intention was to work overseas in order to earn enough to provide a better future for her two children, who depend solely upon her for support,” he added.
Binay mentioned that Veloso had been an “unwitting victim of drug trafficking,” and she did not know she was carrying heroin in her bag when she was traveling to Indonesia.
“All of our investigations indicate that she was, indeed, fooled into carrying the drugs into Indonesia. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, after having investigated and interviewed Mary Jane, categorically stated their opinion of her innocence in drug trafficking. If, indeed, Mary Jane had been working as a drug mule, surely her family would have felt the benefits of the illicit trade, and would not be in such dire financial straits up to the present,” Binay said.
“I appeal to you on considerations of compassion, and assure you that the Philippine government is exhausting all avenues to ensure that proper justice is served to those responsible for deceiving Mary Jane into having brought the drugs into Indonesia. The National Bureau of Investigation has filed cases of human trafficking against Miss Sergio and other accomplices,” he added.
The Vice President also assured Kalla that the Philippine government fully respects the stand of the Indonesian government to the rule of law.
“I merely ask that the penalty of death not be implemented on a woman, a single mother, and clearly an unwitting and unwilling victim of merciless drug-trafficking syndicates,” he said.
Located on the Indian Ocean and separated by a narrow strait off the southern coast of Java island, Nasukambangan has been dubbed by journalists as the “Alcatraz of Indonesia.”
The island is notorious for its maximum-security prisons, home to convicted murderers, terrorists, drug traffickers, and those convicted in high-profile corruption cases.