Mary Jane Veloso’s reprieve only temporary –lawyer

The reprieve given to Filipina death row prisoner Mary Jane Veloso by the Indonesian government is only temporary and may only be short-lived, a lawyer said on “Unang Balita” on Wednesday.

According to lawyer Gaby Concepcion, she thinks the reprieve might only be short-lived pending Indonesia's re-investigation on her case, although she hopes such action would eventually lead to Veloso being removed from death row.

“Sana nga maging permanent ang reprieve kasi this is only in the meantime, siguro para mapag-aralan pa ang kaso niya. Sana nga matuluyan na at maging permanent na,” Concepcion said.

Veloso was the only one spared among the nine death-row convicts from various countries scheduled for execution in Indonesia on Wednesday morning.

Her lawyer, Edre Olalia, earlier told radio dzBB the reprieve was due to a complaint filed in the Philippines against those responsible for Veloso's plight.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for Indonesia's Attorney General's Office Tony Spontana said the execution was postponed after Maria Kristina Sergio, the recruiter who allegedly tricked Veloso into bringing a suitcase containing heroin to Indonesia on April 2010, turned herself in to Philippine authorities on Tuesday.

Concepcion said that Sergio will be facing various charges including a case for human trafficking, which placed Veloso's life in jeopardy.

“Well, siguro ito ang dahilan kung bakit isa sa mga kaso na isasampa aside from illegal recruitment of course at estafa laban sa recruiter na yan ang tinatawag nating human trafficking,” she said.

But Concepcion said Sergio cannot be sued for drug trafficking locally since the alleged drug transaction happened outside the Philippines.

“Strictly speaking hindi po sakop ng drug trafficking laws natin otherwise madadagdagan pa sana ng drug trafficking ang listahan ng mga kasong maaring isampa laban sa recruiter na ito,” she said. —Andrei Medina/KBK, GMA News

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