Duterte urged to intervene regarding OFW on death row

Mary Jane’s parents Cesar and Celia Veloso call for the release of their daughter during a prayer rally in Manila, Sept. 8, 2016. MARIA TAN

MANILA— A Catholic bishop asked President Rodrigo Duterte to intervene in the case of a Filipina inmate convicted of drug smuggling in Indonesia.

Bishop Ruperto Santos, who chairs the Church’s migrants ministry, said Duterte must do something to save Mary Jane Veloso from execution.

“The President, thru Solicitor General Jose Calida, could question the decision of the CA not to allow Mary Jane deposition. Thru the Solicitor General, it should be elevated to the Supreme Court,” Santos said.

The Balanga bishop made the appeal after the Court of Appeals recently affirmed its injunction on Veloso’s testimony against the recruiters who allegedly tricked her into transporting illegal drugs to Indonesia in 2010.

The prelate argued that Veloso should be allowed to testify instead of the CA giving “leeway” to her recruiters.

“It is Mary Jane who must be protected, defended and be saved, not the human traffickers,” Santos said.

“The CA decision is just an added pain and continuous agony for Mary Jane,” he added.

An Indonesian court sentenced the overseas Filipino worker in 2010 after being found guilty of transporting 2.6 kilograms of heroin.

Insisting that she was duped by her recruiters, Veloso was given a last-minute reprieve by Indonesia President Jokowi Widodo in April 2015. CBCPNews