Mary Jane Veloso released after Pres. Marcos grants absolute pardon

MJ Farrley Ong

After nearly 15 years in prison, Mary Jane Veloso was released on Friday, September 25, following President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s grant of absolute pardon to the former overseas Filipino worker after being sentenced to death in Indonesia.

The development was confirmed by President Marcos, saying that he had signed her pardon the previous day after years of appeal seeking Veloso’s release.

Holding her release papers during a press briefing Friday night, Veloso expressed her gratitude to Marcos and she had long wanted to clear her name and return to her family.

“Sobrang sobrang nagpapasalamat talaga ako kay President, kay President Bongbong Marcos Jr. kasi alam ko naman na hindi to mangyayari kung hindi dahil sa kanya,” Veloso said.

“Gusto ko lang malinis ang pangalan ko, makabalik sa pamilya ko, wala na ako hinihiling kung di iyon lang po talaga,” she added.

An absolute pardon restores an individual’s civil and political rights and extinguishes remaining penalties without conditions.  

She was sentenced to death by Indonesia’s District Court of Justice of Sieman on October 11, 2010. Veloso has consistently maintained her innocence, saying was unknowingly used as a drug mule. 

Her scheduled execution by firing squad in 2015 was stayed at the last minute after the woman suspected of recruiting her was arrested on human trafficking charges. Veloso later became a prosecution witness in the case.

Her death sentence was eventually commuted, and in December 2024, Indonesian authorities agreed to transfer her to the Philippine custody under an agreement that removed the possibility of her execution.

Veloso was subsequently detained at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, where her life sentence fell under Philippine jurisdiction. The agreement with Indonesia also gave the Philippine government authority to grant clemency and other similar measures. 

Her family and various migrant groups had repeatedly appealed for her release, with the Palace previously saying the possibility of an absolute pardon was being seriously considered on humanitarian grounds and in support of the government’s commitment to protecting Filipino migrant workers.

Her release concludes a case that has spanned nearly 15 years, allowing her to reunite with her family and continue her efforts of clearing her name.