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Philippine authorities give up hope for Mary Jane Veloso

Officials say they have exhausted all possible options to prevent the woman's imminent execution
Philippine authorities give up hope for Mary Jane Veloso
A resident in the outskirts of Manila lights a candle for Mary Jane Veloso who is set to be executed in Indonesia at midnight (Photo by Maki Macaspac)

 

 
 
Published: April 28, 2015 10:25 AM GMT
Updated: April 27, 2015 11:25 PM GMT

Philippine authorities said on Tuesday they have given up hope that legal and diplomatic efforts will be able to save Mary Jane Veloso from execution in an Indonesian prison, expected to take place early on Wednesday morning.

"[The] execution appears to be imminent," said Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose in a media briefing in Manila on Tuesday.

"We have exhausted all legal remedies.... We did everything that we could, but it seems both approaches — legal and diplomatic — have been closed," he said.

Jose said the "execution will have to be enforced," adding that the Philippine government recognizes Indonesia's "sovereignty to enforce and implement their laws".

"We tried everything. You cannot say that we did not do everything that we could," Jose told reporters.

He said the Philippine embassy in Jakarta would discuss with the Veloso family about "post-execution arrangements, especially the repatriation of the remains".

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday rejected the last-minute appeal of President Benigno Aquino to spare the life of Veloso.

Herminio Coloma, Aquino's spokesman, said Widodo relayed to the Philippine government that there is "no basis" to stop Veloso's death sentence.

Aquino and Widodo met on the sidelines of the 26th ASEAN leaders summit in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

On Tuesday, Aquino proposed to Indonesia to make Veloso a state witness against drug syndicates.

"We presented that it seems to serve both of our interest to keep her alive to be able to testify, and it serves the ends of justice for both our concerns," Aquino told reporters in Malaysia.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said at least 88 Filipinos are facing the death sentence in various countries around the world.

"We are aware of all these [cases], and we are monitoring these," said Jose, adding that almost half of the cases are "drug-related" in China and Malaysia, while the other half are murder cases.

Church bells in Manila tolled simultaneously at noon on Tuesday, hours before Veloso's scheduled execution.

"It is to signify our call to save her from the penalty of death," said Fr Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the public affairs committee of the Philippine bishops' conference.

"The greatest travesty of justice is to put an innocent person to death, and we don't want this to happen, especially to a poor and exploited person," the priest said.

"In moments like this, there is no greater way to assure [Veloso] and her family than to let them know that the nation fully supports them in their quest to spare Mary Jane from the penalty of death," Secillano said.

Indonesian authorities on Tuesday made final preparations to execute Veloso and seven other foreigners, as well as one Indonesian national. 

Ambulances carrying white coffins arrived at the Nusakambangan Prison, the island prison where people on death row await execution.

Family members could be seen wailing in grief during last visits to their loved ones on Tuesday afternoon.

Todung Mulya Lubis, a lawyer for two Australian convicts, returned from Nusakambangan with paintings by Myuran Sukumaran, an accomplished artist, including one signed by all nine death row convicts as they counted down their final hours. 

"Jesus always love us until in the eternal life," wrote Veloso, in a message she signed with a heart and with the words "keep smile".

The family of Veloso also arrived in Cilacap en route to Nusakambagan to pay a final visit, but raced past waiting reporters in a van.

As they got out of the vehicle a Filipino priest, Fr Harold Toledano, gave them each a blessing before they headed to the island.

Death row convicts in Indonesia can request spiritual counselors in their final hours, but the Australian media said the requests made by Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, the Australian ringleaders of the so-called "Bali Nine" heroin trafficking group, had been rejected.

"Last bit of dignity denied," Chan's brother Michael told Fairfax Media in a text. 

While the government has yet to announce when the executions by firing squad will take place, the mother of Sukumaran said Tuesday she was told he would be executed at midnight.

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