IT IS TIME TO RELEASE MARY JANE VELOSO.

by Walden Bello, Amnesty International Philippines’ Most Distinguished Defender of Human Rights Awardee (2023)

I strongly call for the granting of clemency and compassionate release of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina domestic worker and victim of human trafficking who was convicted on drug trafficking charges in Indonesia.

For more than fifteen years, Mary Jane has endured the cruelty of the carceral system, from a trial in Yogyakarta which gave her scant opportunity to defend herself, fourteen years under the harsh uncertainty of death row, to almost a year now in legal limbo under the Philippine Bureau of Corrections. She has suffered far beyond what justice or humanity can justify.

More than that, she is a victim of the system which pushes millions of Filipino laborers, especially women, to go abroad for want of sufficient economic opportunities at home. The neoliberal regime and its structural adjustment programs, which have been perpetuated with gleeful assent of the Philippine elite, sentences people like Mary Jane to years of multiple forms of exploitation, conditions akin to a new slave trade. Those like Mary Jane, who are coerced by economic circumstance to leave behind their families and take the ultimate gamble with their lives, deserve our utmost compassion and care. I myself have witnessed the tragic plight of our countrymen during my tenure in the House of Representatives as Overseas Workers Affairs Chair. The state must stop their suffering, not further perpetuate it.

December 18 marks one year since Mary Jane was handed over to the Bureau of Corrections. It coincides with the 35th annual observance of International Migrants Day, which crucially recognizes the bravery and resilience of all migrant workers, offering an opportunity for us to reflect on how we could make conditions better for them.

I join all those who seek Mary Jane’s immediate release, including the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) who filed a petition for habeas corpus before the Supreme Court and the thousands in the multi-sectoral movement who have demanded that the president order her release. I support House Resolution 583 filed by the Makabayan bloc in Congress urging the government to give Mary Jane clemency, and Rep. Sarah Elago of Kabataan Partylist who recently delivered an impassioned privilege speech on her behalf.