DFA Secretary Manalo ‘brought up’ Mary Jane Veloso’s case with Indonesia
MANILA, Philippines — Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles has confirmed that Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo “brought up” the case of detained overseas Filipino worker Mary Jane Veloso during a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart.
Cruz-Angeles said that “talks continue” but did not give further details.
“These are very sensitive issues,” Cruz-Angeles said in a press briefing on Monday. “As you know, it is a public matter that she has been convicted but our DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) continues to look for solutions.”
Migrante International, church groups, and advocates, together with the parents of Mary Jane Veloso, hold a prayer rally in front of the Department of Foreign Affairs. @PhilstarNews pic.twitter.com/2d1NHj6D67
— Kaycee Valmonte (@kayceevalmonte) September 5, 2022
Manalo met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Sunday.
“I conveyed our heartfelt appreciation for the government’s warm hospitality and her personal role in strengthening our ties in both bilateral and ASEAN contexts,” Manalo wrote in a Twitter post on Monday.
Delighted to meet Indonesian FM Retno Marsudi yesterday. I conveyed our heartfelt appreciation for her government’s warm hospitality & her personal role in strengthening our ties in both bilateral and ASEAN contexts. Looking forward to work w/ @Menlu_RI @DFAPHL @PHinIndonesia pic.twitter.com/VsVhRMa3Tv
— Enrique A. Manalo ???????? (@SecManalo) September 5, 2022
Mary Jane Veloso’s case
Veloso has been jailed for over a decade in Indonesia, after she was convicted of smuggling heroin through the lining of her luggage in 2010. She narrowly escaped the death row in 2015 on humanitarian grounds after the Philippine government argued that she could testify against her recruiters.
Migrante International, a coalition of OFW groups and their families, said that Veloso and her lawyers are waiting for procedures on how she could deliver her testimony in court.
READ: OFW group Migrante calls on next admin to act on Mary Jane Veloso’s deposition
Her parents sent a letter of appeal to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to appeal to President Joko Widodo for the executive clemency of Veloso.
Veloso’s parents sent the letter through the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). However, the DMW said that it is the DFA who handles the case of Veloso, citing that the DFA has been the “front agency” of the issue since it broke.
RELATED: Ahead of Marcos' first state visit, Mary Jane Veloso’s parents ask help on clemency
“They are co-equal, but it is the DFA who must transmit that both to the department secretaries and to the public,” Cruz-Angeles also clarified on Monday.
“The president wants us to speak with one voice and in matters of international relations or even in relation to the status of Filipinos working abroad and possibly in conflict with the law then these matters, which may have an effect on international relations must be coursed first for its messaging with the DFA.” — Kaycee Valmonte with report from The STAR/Alexis Romero
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