Philippines weighs absolute pardon for long-imprisoned migrant worker Mary Jane Veloso
The Office of the President is reportedly considering an absolute pardon for Mary Jane Veloso on humanitarian grounds, with a decision expected in the coming days.
In a House budget session, Bataan 2nd District Representative Albert Raymond Garcia disclosed that the Office of the President is seriously contemplating an absolute pardon for Mary Jane Veloso, a former overseas Filipino worker who has spent about 16 years in detention after being convicted in Indonesia for allegedly carrying 2.6 kilos of heroin. The proposal is framed as a humanitarian gesture to uphold the government’s duty to protect Filipino migrant workers.
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto backed Garcia’s remarks when questioned by Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Sarah Jane Elago, who asked about the timeline for the decision. Authorities said a formal announcement will be made within a few days. Veloso, whose death sentence was commuted in 2015 following a Philippine appeal, was transferred to the Philippines in December 2024 and is currently held at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong, where her record shows a reclusion perpetua term.
Why it matters
The potential pardon could end a high-profile 16-year incarceration and signal the government's stance on protecting Filipino overseas workers.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTBoth camps report the same facts and frame the possible pardon as a humanitarian gesture to protect Filipino migrant workers.
LEFT
Frames the contemplated absolute pardon as a humanitarian gesture to protect Filipino migrant workers
CENTER
Frames the contemplated absolute pardon as a humanitarian gesture to protect Filipino migrant workers
The left emphasises
- humanitarian gesture
- protect Filipino migrant workers
- announcement expected in the coming days
In this story
