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Loneliness and uncertainty haunt Filipinos jailed abroad

A year after Mary Jane Veloso's stay of execution in Indonesia, family and friends make new plea for clemency
Loneliness and uncertainty haunt Filipinos jailed abroad

The parents of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipino woman convicted for smuggling drugs to Indonesia, appeal for clemency for their daughter as they mark the anniversary of her stay of execution on April 29. (Photo by Mark Saludes)

Published: May 03, 2016 09:08 AM GMT
Updated: May 03, 2016 09:58 AM GMT

A year after Indonesia granted a last-minute stay of execution to convicted Filipino drug mule Mary Jane Veloso, her fate still hangs in the balance.

"We are glad that she is alive and was spared execution, but the death sentence is still in effect," said Veloso's mother, Celia.

The 56-year old says the family continues to live in a "dire condition" even after the Indonesian government postponed the execution of Veloso on April 29, 2015.

"We will only be happy when the family is complete and together," said Celia. "We appeal to [Indonesian] President Joko Widodo to overturn Mary Jane's sentence."

"Please let her children grow up with their mother," she said.

Veloso is one of thousands of Filipinos languishing in jail or facing legal problems abroad.

According to the Philippines' foreign ministry the number of Filipinos with legal problems in other countries shot up from about 6,000 in 2014 to 7,100 in 2015.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Charles Jose told ucanews.com his ministry is assisting at least 90 Filipino workers on death row in various countries.

He said 41 are on death row in Malaysia, more than 20 await execution in Saudi Arabia, while the rest are in various prisons around the world.

 

Linked to terrorism

Information obtained by ucanews.com revealed that one of six Filipinos, arrested on terrorism charges in Saudi Arabia during the last quarter of 2015, died in prison.

Jovito Relorcasa Quino Jr., 26, was arrested on suspicion of having links to Yasser Mohammed, a suspected Syrian terrorist who was arrested in September 2015.

Quino's sister, Juvy, told ucanews.com the family had no contact with her brother after December.

On April 13, the family received a call from the Philippine embassy in Riyadh informing them that Quino committed suicide on April 7.

However, the Philippine authorities did not tell the family how they could retrieve her brother's body.

The foreign ministry said Philippine officials in Riyadh are "currently requesting to gain access to Jovito's body."

 

Government inaction

Migrant groups Migrante lamented the government's "inaction" in cases of Filipinos in trouble abroad.

"The government only acts if a worker is sentenced to prison or executed, but there is no legal assistance when a worker is arrested," said Sara Katrina Maramag, Migrante spokeswoman.

"Unmonitored cases lead to worst-case scenarios like what is happening to Mary Jane Veloso and what happened to Joselito Zapanta," said Maramag

Zapanta was executed in Saudi Arabia on Dec. 29, 2015, after being convicted for murder. His family and the Philippine government failed to raise the US$1 million "blood money" the victim's family demanded in exchange for Zapanta's freedom.

Jose, however, said the Philippine government is trying its best to help all Filipino migrant workers by maintaining close ties with foreign governments.

"Embassies and other agencies under the Foreign Affairs office are ready to provide all necessary assistance to every Filipino working or traveling abroad," said Jose.

In the case of Veloso, Jose said the burden is now in the hands of the Philippines' judicial system. He said her fate "depends on the courts" where her alleged recruiters are facing charges of human trafficking.

"I believe that we can bring Mary Jane home," said Jose. "Let us hope that our courts exert all their efforts to speed up these trials," he said.

On the Quino case, Jose said his office would conduct an investigation "to know what transpired."

 

Family members of migrant workers appeal for clemency for Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipino woman convicted of smuggling drugs to Indonesia who was given a stay of execution on April 29, 2015. (Photo by Mark Saludes)

 

Forlorn and pining for home

As for Veloso, she continues to wait.

"Mary Jane, a young poor mother of two pushed by her own government to work abroad because she wanted a decent life, is … still forlorn, all alone, and pining for home," said Veloso's lawyer, Edre Olalia.

"She is just waiting. But how long shall she wait?" the lawyer said. 

"The clock continues to tick. Time is of the very essence. So we keep on pounding and knocking to give Mary Jane justice," said Olalia.

He called on candidates in this year's elections to go "beyond the rhetoric and palliative promises" and concretely address both the root causes and the immediate needs of forced migration.

Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga, head of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, said the government must come up with a "long-term solution."

The prelate said the government should combat poverty by providing more jobs. "We appreciate all efforts to save lives, but prevention is better than cure," he said.

"Going abroad to seek a job has to be a matter of choice and not a matter of necessity for our countrymen," said Bishop Santos.

 

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