MANILA (Updated) -- The Aquino administration expressed gratitude to Indonesia on Wednesday for the temporary reprieve given to Mary Jane Veloso, who was supposed to be executed along with eight other convicted drug traffickers.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the Philippine government is thankful to President Joko Widodo and the Indonesian government for giving due consideration to President Benigno Aquino III's appeal to spare Veloso's life.
"Such reprieve provides an opportunity for the perpetuation of her testimony that could shed light on how a criminal syndicate duped her into being an unwitting accomplice or courier in their human and drug trafficking activities," he said.
"We also thank the Filipino people for their prayers and for keeping vigil for Mary Jane's cause," Coloma added.
Vice President Jejomar Binay credited the power of prayer for Veloso's reprieve.
"Her reprieve was the result of our collective action and prayer, of our faith in God and our unity as a people. Let us continue to pray for Mary Jane and her family," he said.
Senator Nancy Binay, however, noted that Veloso is just one of over 80 Filipinos languishing in death row abroad.
She said this is a "painful reminder" of the need to intensify the country’s measures against human trafficking.
Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV has already filed Senate Resolution 1266 to look into cases of OFWs languishing in jails and death row and disposition of cases affecting OFWs such as illegal recruitment and human trafficking.
"If we treat our OFWs as heroes, we should give them sufficient support and protection, most especially that they are in other countries. They contributed too much for the country's economic growth. Let us not neglect them," the senator said.
He also urged authorities to beef up the cases filed against Veloso’s recruiter and others responsible for her plight so she can get justice for her years of incarceration.
Veloso was arrested in Yogyakarta airport in 2010 after authorities found 2.6 kilograms of heroin in a suitcase supposedly given by her Filipino companion who recruited her for a job as a domestic worker.
The alleged recruiter, Maria Kristina Sergio, yielded to the police on Tuesday. This reportedly pushed Indonesia to exclude Veloso from execution.
“Veloso’s claim that she was set up already led to a temporary reprieve. A definitive finding may lead to a permanent reprieve or at least commutation of sentence in Indonesia,” said Senator Juan Edgardo Angara.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Valenzuela City Representative Sherwin Gatchalian lauded Aquino for his last-ditch effort to save Veloso from imminent death.
Aquino personally talked to Widodo at the sidelines of the 26th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit in Malaysia on Monday, followed by a phone call on Tuesday to Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi where he broached the idea of turning Veloso into a witness against a drug trafficking syndicate.
Aquino broke protocol, Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras said, because the President was supposed to only talk directly to his counterpart.
"But that shows you how determined the President was to move that message as fast as possible," Almendras said.
While Veloso was granted a reprieve, eight other drug convicts, mostly foreigners, were executed through firing squad on the prison island of Nusakambangan in Indonesia.
Among them are two Australians, four Nigerian men, and one man each from Brazil and Indonesia.
The execution has strained relations between Indonesia and Australia after Canberra recalled its envoy as a sign of protest. (SDR/Virgil Lopez/Ruth Abbey Gita/John Carlo Cahinhinan/Sunnex)