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SCMP’s Asia desk

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr is weighing an absolute pardon for Mary Jane Veloso, a former death row inmate detained since her 2010 conviction for drug trafficking in Indonesia.
“The Office of the President is seriously considering granting an absolute pardon to Mary Jane Veloso on humanitarian grounds in support of the government’s commitment to protecting Filipino migrant workers,” lawmaker Albert Garcia said on Wednesday, as quoted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “There will be an announcement in a few days.”
Palace press officer Claire Castro confirmed the report on the same day, according to the Philippine Star, but declined to provide further details.
“I am not the one authorised to disclose them at this time,” Castro said.
Asked if Veloso would be pardoned by Christmas, Castro said: “Should I pre-empt the president? It might happen earlier. We don’t know. Let us see. Let the president talk about it.”
Apart from humanitarian grounds, Veloso’s pardon was being considered based on her long-standing claim that she was not responsible for the crime, Castro told the Manila Standard.

Indonesia would not need to be informed, she added, as clemency was the prerogative of the Philippine government under the terms of Veloso’s repatriation.
The overseas Filipino worker, then 25, was arrested at Yogyakarta’s Adisutjipto International Airport in 2010 after officials found 2.6kg (5.7lbs) of heroin hidden in her luggage. She was convicted and sentenced to death later that year.
Veloso, a single mother of two, has maintained her innocence, saying she was deceived by recruiters who promised her a job abroad as a domestic helper. Advocates argue she was a victim of human trafficking.
Scheduled for execution by firing squad in 2015, Veloso won a dramatic last-minute reprieve after then president Benigno Aquino III appealed to his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo.
She remained at Yogyakarta Women’s Prison while the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs negotiated her transfer with the Indonesian government. Reports that she was suffering from a possibly malignant ovarian cyst added urgency to the process.
On December 18, 2024, Veloso flew back to Manila and was transferred to the custody of the Philippines’ Bureau of Corrections.
The arrangement allowed her sentence to be governed by Philippine laws upon her return, including the executive authority to grant clemency or a presidential pardon.
Activists have campaigned for the 41-year-old’s release since her return to the country. In February, Castro urged Veloso to write to the president personally to ask for clemency.


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The Philippines

The parents of Mary Jane Veloso holding placards demanding clemency for their daughter during a protest in Manila in November 2024. Photo: EPA

Mary Jane Veloso (centre) waves after being reunited with her family at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong, Philippines, in December 2024. Photo: AP

Pilot’s arrest spotlights Malaysia’s growing status as regional drug transit hub

Indonesian Customs officials display drugs smuggled by a Malaysian pilot as evidence during a press conference at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on July 31. Photo: AFP

Members of the Royal Malaysia Police display seized illegal drugs and drug-making equipment during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur in December 2025. Photo: AFP

Malaysia arrests 6 over drugs supplied to pilot caught with Ecstasy pills in Jakarta

Indonesian customs officials display drugs smuggled by a Malaysian pilot as evidence during a press conference at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on July 31. Photo: AFP

Malaysian police smash cross-border drug ring, seize US$1 million of meth disguised as tea

Methamphetamine, also known as crystal meth. Police in Malaysia and Thailand have seized a total of 252.2kg of methamphetamine through a joint operation. Photo: Shutterstock

Malaysian and Thai police show off the seized drugs, disguised as tea bags, in George Town on Tuesday. Photo: The Star 

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A Malaysia Airlines pilot is seen on CCTV wheeling two bags, later found to contain drugs, at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on July 28. Photo: Handout 

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A full presidential pardon is being ‘seriously’ considered following Mary Jane Veloso’s repatriation in 2024


A full presidential pardon is being ‘seriously’ considered following Mary Jane Veloso’s repatriation in 2024.


Indonesia

Claire Castro

Ferdinand Marcos Jnr

Benigno Aquino

Philippines weighs pardon for death row inmate repatriated from Indonesia

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A full presidential pardon is being ‘seriously’ considered following Mary Jane Veloso’s repatriation in 2024

A full presidential pardon is being ‘seriously’ considered following Mary Jane Veloso’s repatriation in 2024