Mary Jane Veloso reunites with family after being granted absolute pardon

After being detained for more than a decade, Mary Jane Veloso is finally coming home to her family.

Veloso and her family were finally reunited on Sept. 26. She arrived at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City around midnight after being granted an absolute pardon.

The emotional reunion saw Veloso and her family embrace after years apart. They later boarded a coaster bound for a hotel in Manila, where they were set to rest ahead of a thanksgiving mass, lunch, and press conference scheduled for noon at the Siena College Chapel in Quezon City.

They were accompanied by lawyers from the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers and Migrante International, as well as representatives from the Department of Migrant Workers.

"Masayang-masaya po. God bless po. Thank you po sa lahat ng pagsubaybay sa akin. Thank you din po sa mga sumusuporta. Mabuhay po tayong lahat," Veloso gratefully told the media, as shared by The Philippine STAR.

"Sobrang happy po talaga. Hindi ko po siya masabi sa salita, pero kasi ito po kasi 'yung araw na pinakahihintay ko talaga, ang makasama ang pamilya ko," she said. "Blessing po talaga."

Veloso’s mother, Celia, said she still couldn’t believe that she was finally with her daughter, who had been detained for 16 years.

"Hindi ako makapaniwala, ito na sa tabi ko," she said. 

During the press conference on Friday evening, Sept. 25, Veloso maintained her innocence in the drug trafficking case against her in Indonesia.

"Wala naman po talaga akong ginawang kasalanan...Lahat ginagawa ko para mapatunayan sa kanila na ito ang Mary Jane na totoo, na takot sa mga iligal na gawain. Si Mary Jane na mapagmahal na ina. Si Mary Jane na anak sa magulang," Veloso said.

Veloso was arrested in Indonesia on April 25, 2010, after authorities found over 2.6 kilos of heroin in her luggage. She said she was unaware of the drugs and that her recruiters, Maria Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao, gave her the luggage.

Despite her claim, she was sentenced to death by firing squad on April 29, 2015.

In February 2015, President Noynoy Aquino appealed to Indonesian President Joko Widodo to spare Veloso and later sent three follow-up letters. Hours before her execution, Widodo granted her a reprieve so she could testify against her recruiters.

After nearly 14 years in prison, Veloso returned to the Philippines in December 2024 and remained detained in Mandaluyong.

Then on Sept. 25, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed he signed the order granting absolute pardon to detained overseas Filipino worker Mary Jane Veloso. 

In an ambush interview, he told the media, "Pinirmahan ko na 'yung pardon niya kahapon."