Robredo: We must keep Mary Jane’s welfare in mind

Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday said the government and the Filipino people "must keep" in mind the welfare of Mary Jane Veloso.
In a statement, Robredo said the Filipina's case "is emblematic of the hardships faced by millions of our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers)."
Veloso was arrested at the Yogyakarta airport in Indonesia in 2010 after authorities found 2.6 kilograms of heroin inside the lining of her baggage. She was subsequently found guilty of the crime, which is punishable by death.
The Philippine government appealed for her case twice, and former President Benigno Aquino III eventually requested for her reprieve, asking that she be turned into a witness to identify the criminal group that used her to transport illegal drugs. 
"We must keep her welfare in mind, along with the welfare of all OFWs, as they remain under our government's protection and support despite working overseas," Robredo said in her statement.
The Vice President issued the statement in light of a Jakarta Post report quoting Indonesian President Joko Widodo as saying that President Rodrigo Duterte "has given the go-ahead" to Veloso's execution. 
In her statement, Robredo noted how Filipinos rallied behind Veloso, who was spared from her scheduled execution in April 2015. 
"A year ago, the Filipino nation came together in prayer and unit to appeal to the Indonesian government to spare Mary Jane's life. Our prayers were answered when she was given a reprieve, and as one nation, she rejoiced," she said. 
With this, Robredo said the Jakarta Post report "comes as a terrible shock," and said she shares the concern of many Filipinos on the matter.
"We trust that the administration will immediate shed light on this report to address the understandable concern of so many of us Filipinos," she said, adding her hopes that the government can also "take appropriate action" on this. 
No Duterte green light
But Malacañang has denied the Jakarta Post report. 
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said Duterte had no categorical statement giving a green light to the execution. He said Duterte told Widodo, "Follow your own laws. I will not interfere."
In a separate statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs tagged Jakarta Post's headline as "erroneous," with Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. maintaining that the execution "has been indefinitely deferred."
For his part, Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza said the Jakarta Post article was a "spin," quoting Yasay as saying that the President "even asked for a thorough review of the case in the Indonesian court." — RSJ, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more