The saga of Mary Jane Veloso may not have ended yet but worth mentioning are the efforts of two Philippine presidents to save her from being executed in a foreign land. PNoy succeeded in temporarily staying her execution. PBBM not only convinced Indonesia to have her death sentence commuted to life imprisonment but he is bringing her back home to serve her sentence here.
We are not privy to the terms of the agreement but we can only hope it includes the discretion to grant Mary Jane a presidential pardon or at least her early release from confinement based on good conduct time allowance (GCTA) as provided under RA 10592.
Let us not also forget those who worked behind the scene – the DFA officials and others tasked to make it happen. Looking back, she was used as a “drug mule” by a drug syndicate whose members may still be recruiting other Mary Jane Velosos who are driven by poverty and ignorance.
Mary Jane Veloso is a victim of circumstances I believe. The Policy Social Justice states that “those who have less in life must have more in law.”