Mary Jane Veloso returns to the Philippines after nearly 15 years
Mary Jane Veloso, the overseas Filipino worker sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking in 2010, returned to the Philippines on early Dec. 18.
Veloso arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 at around 5:51 a.m.
She was immediately brought to the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong, much to the disappointment of her family, who wasn't able to see her.
Veloso's family and friends waiting for her at NAIA T3. Ryan Baldemor / The Philippine STAR
Veloso's family and friends waiting for her at NAIA T3. Ryan Baldemor / The Philippine STAR
Veloso's family and friends waiting for her at NAIA T3. Ryan Baldemor / The Philippine STAR
Veloso's family and friends waiting for her at NAIA T3. Ryan Baldemor / The Philippine STAR
Veloso's family and friends waiting for her at NAIA T3. Ryan Baldemor / The Philippine STAR
Veloso's family and friends waiting for her at NAIA T3. Ryan Baldemor / The Philippine STAR
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The 39-year-old only reunited with her parents and two sons at the CIW.
Veloso will undergo a five-day quarantine at the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor)'s Reception and Diagnostic Center, as part of a protocol for a new person deprived of liberty. During the quarantine, she will undergo a medical examination and physical examination.
Afterward, she will undergo a 55-day orientation, diagnostic evaluation, and initial security classification before she's assigned to her designated corrections facility.
BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said Veloso, during the flight, wasn't in a handcuff or subjected to any instrument of restraint. He noted that this was in line with the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners, as adopted by the First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders.
“Under the said rules, such instruments must not be applied for any longer time than is strictly necessary,” Catapang said. "Wala naman siyang balak tumakas or saktan ang sarili niya dahil gusto na nga niyang makauwi ng Pilipinas, so bakit pa natin kakailanganin ang posas?"
The officer assured Veloso’s family that they may visit her on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, as her quarantine period would have ended by that time.
Over a decade ago, Veloso was apprehended at Adisucipto International Airport in the city of Yogyakarta after authorities found her in possession of over 2.6 kilos of heroin.
She said she was unaware of the contents of her luggage, noting that it had been given to her by her recruiters Maria Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao.
Veloso's family hopes President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. will grant her executive clemency.
